Kingdom Hearts
by Erydian
Summary: A novelization of the incredible story in which young Sora must risk everything to find his best friends, Riku and Kairi, on his journey to return home to the Destiny Islands. R&R.
1. Destati

Kingdom Hearts 

_A Novelization_

Prologue _Destati_

"_I've been having these weird thoughts lately…. Like, is any of this for real… or not?"_

Blue at all sides, like a fog of sapphire. His eyes were clenched tight in the cold waters. The salt itched under his clothes, but it was nothing in comparison to the burning in his throat, where the air was being drained from his lungs.

He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't hear a sound in the icy, dragging current. Bubbles of air swam away like a measure of his remaining life. Every sphere that ascended removed more vitality from his numb limbs.

The silver links on his necklace shimmered in the fading light, glowing all around, before the distant sun rays struck the small crown-shaped link where the necklace floated above his chest.

A flash of green emanated so brightly, that Sora could see it through his eyelids. And as he opened them, he found himself on land.

Behind him, the soft yellow sands of the Destiny Islands spanned to a wide rock face. The shining emerald palm fronds shadowed the wood paths towards the shipwreck, or up the winding stair that ascended the "Titan's Tree." The Seaside Shack was to Sora's left as he looked out to the horizon; it was the shambles of a hut, and the roof on top had been so overgrown with wildlife, a layer of land had replaced its roof. From this level area, a bridge had been erected to a blob of rock in the sea, with a few palm trees that bent out over the ocean.

Riku, Sora's best friend, spent hours on that rock everyday, thinking about random intricacies that often brought odd stares from the other children on the island.

But Riku was not on the rock now. Instead, he was standing in the middle of the sea, his back to the Islands. The straps of his large blue waders crossed over his back. Under them, a yellow and black tank top sat tight to his back. His feet vanished beneath the ocean, and his head vanished beneath a mop of untidy, silver hair.

Sora began to walk out to him, grinning at the thought of shocking Riku in the midst of one of his deep pontifications. But after a few seconds of walking, Sora stopped, staring slowly downwards.

He had been inches from the sea, but as he walked, there was no sound. No splash, no slosh, no rush of the tide. His gaze trailed the ground, to see the entire ocean retreating, as if in fear.

Just before Riku, the waters climbed, reaching higher than the altitude of the Titan's Tree, rising further still, as if reaching to touch the sky.

As it curled, Riku turned around, his face solid and still. Fiery green eyes bore into Sora, erupting from a light tan to silently speak to Sora. Riku reached out a hand, with a black glove sliced down to end just before the base of his palm.

Sora started forward, extending his own arm as he sprinted, knowing that something awful would happen if their gloves didn't meet.

White-clad hands flinging back and forth at his side, Sora's large yellow shoes stomped the ground as he flew. The water was so close, barely closer than Sora.

Riku was pitched under.

Sora dove outwards, only to be thrown back as if the sheer force of the sea had slapped him across his entire body. His limbs ached as he tumbled under the sea. His brilliant blue eyes opened under the water, immune to the sting of salt as he looked around.

Riku was standing like a statue, his hand still outstretched. Riku tipped his head, as if to say, "Are you coming?" Sora swam forward, but the ocean struck again, flinging him backwards as he stuck out one hand, then the other, clambering to reach his ally in this nightmare. Heavy currents threw him back towards shore, and he blacked out, unable to surface for air.

¤

His eyes opened slowly, sticky seaweed clinging to his forehead. Sora flung it off, and looked around; he stared upwards to the sunset, where orange and blue married behind the clouds, tinting the Destiny Islands in their dim light.

The water brought his gaze to the shore, where he saw Kairi standing, calling his name and waving to him. Her short red hair was beautiful in the sunlight, but not nearly as endearing as her baby blue eyes. She smiled her perfect grin as Sora waved back to her.

Pink and white clogs were tied loose to her feet, and her small skirt looked as natural as the petals of a flower.

Sora found footing in the water, and ran forward to her, his large shoes leaving sizable imprints in the wet sand. He looked up at her, placing his hands on his knees and laughing. She chuckled behind her hand, and they shared a moment of awkwardness, where both were too uncomfortable to share what they were thinking.

Kairi opened her mouth to try, but her eyes shot upwards, to the red light behind the distant clouds.

Something was there, tiny as an ant, and black in shadow, but slowly gaining clarity as it dropped to the ocean.

Sora looked up, his vision slightly better, and began to rapidly notice details. It was a boy, with baggy red shorts and a white jacket. The jacket was unzipped, flapping upwards in the air above the falling child. His shorts connected directly up into a red shirt, with a silver necklace chained under shaggy brown hair.

Sora stepped backwards, recognizing the kid in clarity.

It was him.

But that was impossible, for he was right there, standing on the sand. Just for assurance, he stomped his foot… and it struck nothing. His vision vanished, and just as quickly, he tried to open his eyes, assuming he had closed them.

He had, and he was looking at the water.

Down at the water.

Nipping air stung his body as he fell, feeling gravity laughing at him as his hands pointed out, breaking his rocket shape to make a tiny bit of air resistance. He tipped backwards, head up to the sky, as he crashed into the sea. The instantaneous vacuum of water revealed Kairi, standing on the sea's surface, staring down at him, before salt and sand splashed over his vision just as quickly as the ocean itself.

He gripped his hands together for warmth as he fell. His white, fingerless gloves provided barely any heat. His eyes closed, as he felt the itch of salt, and numbing of his limbs. Some air pressure imbalances forced his sinuses to ache, and a flip of his body forced water down his nose, as if the sea was trying to fill his head with liquid. He realized he was back where this oddity had started, tumbling under the ocean.

Now, he prayed for a flash of green light.

Instead, his feet touched sand. And around his yellow sneakers, the sand rushed up in a spiraling twister, breaking and condensing into small white birds.

Doves.

The sand they erupted from revealed an enormous platform, layered in light green glass.

This was probably where the green flash came from. The tidal wave had probably covered it. Sora smiled, slowly realizing he could breathe. The water had become air, and he was surrounded by the beauty of art and birds.

A white feather fell to his nose, and he looked up.

Blackness surrounded him on all sides, except for on this circular pattern. There was a girl painted there, in a yellow dress with tiny blue sleeves. She had short-cropped black hair, and in her hands was the delight of a vivid red apple. Around her was painted seven faces, all squat and smiling. The edge of the platform had circles carved in, each with the caricature of a woodland animal grinning up at Sora.

It was then he heard the voice.

¤

"So much to do… So little time…. Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut."

_What door?_ Sora wondered, looking around for the voice's source.

"Now step forward. Can you do it?"

"Who are you?" he asked aloud, turning his head around. There was no one in view. He walked forward. Nothing happened, he continued, searching for some hidden compartment where the voice could be emanating from.

But as he thought, there was nothing.

He stood at the center of the platform, rubbing his hand through his hair.

Silence.

"What do you want from me?" he screamed.

There was a loud crash, and in the shape of a triangle around him, three stone daises split through the glass. Each had a small message etched into the rock.

Sora waited for the voice, but nothing came. Then suddenly, three beams of golden light shot from the surrounding darkness, one striking each rock like lightning.

Three objects appeared above the stones: a sword, a staff, and a shield.

The voice came from directly above him, humming like thunder around his body.

"If you give it form… It will give you strength. Choose well."

Sora walked about, reading the three plaques.

The sword came first, the shining metal of its blade calling out to him like a beacon.

_The power of the warrior._

_Invincible courage._

_A sword of terrible destruction._

He loved the thought, tingling at the idea of power. But he was no fool. With this blade in his hands he would become vicious. Or so he feared.

"Take your time," the voice had said before. So he would.

The wand shone in an aura of self-created light. It was tipped off with a blue sculpture: a blue ball with two other spheres on both top corners.

_The power of the mystic._

_Inner strength._

_A staff of wonder and ruin._

_Ruin…_ Sora thought. _Why does this voice want me to cause so much havoc? A sword of destruction, a staff of ruin. What is this?_

The final item, the shield, was lined in a red border, with the same spheres painted onto his gleaming face.

_The power of the guardian. _

_Kindness to aid friends. _

_A shield to repel all. _

Sora reached out, the words grasping at his heart. The metal grip of the protector shone as he grasped it, lifting it from the platform.

Or at least tried to.

"Is this the power you seek?" boomed the voice from all sides.

Sora ripped the shield from the dais, staring at the darkness. He nodded. The dais exploded, scattering stone everywhere, and Sora ducked under the shield, guarding his eyes.

As he stood up, he felt the shield grow light, and then vanish; it split into a hundred beads of green light that spread out and then crashed into his body.

He could feel his muscles flex, and his energy expand. The shield was feeding its ability into him, and he reveled in it.

But the voice was not gone.

"Now, what will you give up in exchange?"

Sora turned around, looking straight at the staff.

_Ruin…_

He pointed to it, looking sternly at the wand until the voice confirmed it.

"You give up _this _power?" it asked, somewhat shocked.

"I'm not here to play God," said Sora, "So can we get this over with. I want to go home?" The staff vanished, fading backwards into the inky abyss.

The voice ignored him. "You've chosen the power of the guardian. You've given up the power of the mystic. Is this the form you choose?" Sora looked down at his newfound muscles, and breathed in a larger breath of air. He didn't need magic; he'd never had it before.

So he nodded.

The remaining stones collapsed into the glass, sending a ripple of spidery shatters across the platform. Sora ran backwards, stopping at the edge, as the two lines of moving shards collapsed downwards into nothing.

_Trust the voice,_ he thought. _This has to be a dream. It has to be._

So he fell.

¤

Slowly, he regained consciousness. He flailed about a bit at first, clambering to find how much space lay around him before opening his eyes.

The floor beneath him was smooth and cold. He could feel the light ridges where paint had blobbed on the glass.

He looked around.

There was another stained glass platform beneath him, decorated in purple images, with the tall image of a blonde girl. Her hair was pulled back in a blue band, and her periwinkle dress shone like the moon. Around the glass were pictures like those in a church: a series of images depicting a story. This showed a dance and a lost glass slipper. Somehow, though, the prince that couldn't find her halfway through was dancing with her again at the end.

It was all so peculiar.

Something weighed down Sora's arm. The shield twinkled into place along his forearm. He swung it around proudly.

"You have gained the power to fight," the voice repeated softly, as if afraid of eavesdroppers. "Use this power to protect yourselves and others."

Something hissed before Sora. He stepped back, extending out the shield. If anything happened, he would be ready.

The voice rushed its next words, as if it saw the source of the noise. "There will be times when you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong!"

The hissing concentrated into a gaseous black on the glass, with tendrils of midnight smoke clambering out of the miasma. A head erupted: a soft black sphere with flaming yellow eyes that were all pupil, and two black antennas that were bent and jagged, as if twisted repeatedly.

The tiny, frail body followed, with scrawny limbs. The figure twitched, and then jumped, the darkness beneath disappearing. The monster was entirely black, deeper so than the darkest Halloween.

Sora charged.

His shield struck the monster in the torso, forcing the being backwards. But apparently, the assault wasn't strong enough. The shadow climbed over the metal, on and around Sora's head, and kicked him in the back.

Sora fell on his stomach, and then spun around, smashing the shield into the shadow's body, effectively flinging it a distance across the platform. The shadow climbed up, trembling, like a battered puppet, only to be struck over the head by the metal gift.

Sora looked down at it, watching the yellow in its eyes fade away, followed by the rest of the little demon. He stepped back, as the air before him gave the last hint of the monster's presence. Sora sighed.

"Behind you!"

A group of three of the creatures, all identical, jumped at him. He ducked down, holding up the shield, which reflected them all off. Sora lunged forward, crashing them into each other, pushing back towards the platform's edge to knock them off.

Two fell, spinning in the darkness as they faded out of sight. But the third one had vanished. Sora looked around, and saw that half across the platform; the creature had been transferred into paint.

So why was it moving?

As if it had been inflated, the fiend rose into the air, spinning about. Sora dove at it, but the creature stuck out a foot, crescent kicking him across the face.

A drop of blood trickled from a new scratch under his eye.

_Dream indeed, _he moaned.

He stood up, slinging the shield across his back. He stepped forward, ducked another punch, and grabbed the monster by the neck, lifting the flailing thing into the air. He tried to strangle it, but it hit him across the face with its small knuckle.

Sora yelled out, and then ran across the platform, flinging it into the chasm with its friends.

Friend. Singular.

The other monster was climbing the façade of the platform, which as Sora looked down, descended miles into the void. It was like an insect, he noticed. Its sticky hands stuck to the wall. Sora was afraid he'd have to wait for it to reach the surface.

He drew his shield, and pointed to it, leaning over the side.

His idea worked.

The monster took one look at the steel and gave up, releasing its hands from the wall, falling down endlessly. It didn't utter a sound.

Instead, the hissing sound from before appeared behind him. Black lines of smoke spiraled about like the symbol of an atom. Violet and navy lines pulsed from there, before touching the ground.

_Oh, _come_ on! _moaned Sora, wielding his shield like a great warrior. But no monsters came. Instead, the shadow consumed the glass, and engulfed Sora in its spread.

_Trust my surroundings_, he said to himself waveringly. _Trust the voice, trust my strength, trust the_-

He vanished.

¤

Once more, Sora flailed about, feeling the icy touch of stained glass beneath his fingers. Three pink hearts saved the buttercup silhouettes of three beautiful princesses. Gold and rose flowers spun out in a magnificent manner around the designs, specking the glass with romantic ornaments.

As Sora stood, a tall door came into focus. It bore similar colors, with a gentle turquoise and vivid green worked in. The only problem was that it was transparent, with wispy, wavering lines and no solidity. Sora reached forward, touching its handle as he stood up. The brass shocked his fingers.

Slowly, he moved forward, leaning his eye down to the keyhole, where a circle of chilled metal surrounded his pupil.

All he could see was white. Whether it was a cloud, a fog, or a light, there was nothing tangible on the other side.

He stepped back.

The door was solid. The colors were more vibrant, and their finish more still. He realized it was marble, with smooth curves and soft carving edges. It was so weird, to have a door just placidly waiting there, with no wall around it in the middle of this twisted void.

He returned his fingers to the knob. Something white slithered around his palm like the ridged underside of a garden snake. Sora stepped back.

A crack in the door grew to a gap half as wide as he. The white behind shone out and through, blasting light around him and into the shadows.

He tried to look around at the enveloping darkness, but the sterile flash overwhelmed him, and he was blinded. The voice sheared through the doorway, fading as he was losing consciousness yet again.

"Hold on! The door won't open just yet. First, tell me more about yourself…"

Sora's eyes stayed open and his body still. The light began to fade as he turned around, shouting "I just opened the door! What is it with you?"

But he was yelling at the sea. Blue water lapped up against the ship skeleton. The Sailors' Graveyard, as it was known to the Islanders. What was going on? Why was he here--home-- at the Destiny Islands?

He turned around, facing the sands of the beach, where the Titan's Tree ascended high, only fifty yards away. Sora was not alone on the island, either. Around him were three friends, of whom he rarely saw anymore after his long breaks with Riku and Kairi.

Yet, here they were, standing stone still, waiting for him. Their eyes were glazed, as if they were but shells of themselves.

Sora was uncomfortable.

Tidus stepped forward first, with his sandals flapping up and down on the rotting planks of the broken deck. He had unruly, dirty blonde hair, and shorts with one leg considerably longer than the other. His yellow shirt was open at the front, flapping in the gentle sea breeze behind Sora. He looked past Sora, as if reading the pages of the sea, as his mouth moved independent of his mind.

"What are you so afraid of?"

Sora stared at him, with his head turned to the side. This was certainly not the Tidus he knew.

"I don't know," he said. "Getting old?" Tidus continued his distant gaze.

"Getting old?" he asked Sora. "Is that really that scary?" He sighed and retreated.

Selphie stepped forward next, dragging her jump rope limply behind her. She had on a short brown skirt and a yellow blouse that glimmered in the morning sunlight.

Morning!

Sora could still remember the red sky of the setting sun, and here he was, after seemingly only a short while, in the cloudless sky, hours before noon.

He looked at Selphie, at how her blue eyes were as distant as the sky they reflected, and how her brown hair trailed down her back into sad pigtails.

"What's most important to you?" she questioned, voice sadly walking through the air.

Sora thought of Kairi. How her red hair covered her gemstone eyes, and how… what was he saying? Gemstone eyes. Ha! He wasn't sappy.

So then why did the words friendship drip out of his mouth? He looked at Selphie. "Not the kind of friendship where… well… you know. Just friendship. Plain old friendship. Ya know?"

"Is friendship such a big deal?" she asked, her voice receding with her.

Wakka was last to step forward, with a blue and white ball "blitzball" under his arm, trademark of a silly water sport he invented. His red hair was gelled into a wavy spike in the front, and he had on a tattered white shirt. Bright orange sandals matched his vivid hair, but contrasted the gray fog in his eyes that was exactly like Selphie's and Tidus'.

"What's most important to you?" he asked in his heavy island accent.

Sora looked out at the island, thinking of the _real_ one, where he spent all of his days swimming the waters or hiding in the caves.

But he was tired of it, ready to explore.

Which was why they had built the raft. It was the boat to end all transports, complete with a homemade sail, and handmade platform. Riku especially prided over it. It was so near done, but so handsome. Sora answered, lost in thought: "To see rare sights."

But his trance broke as Tidus and Selphie stepped forward, in perfect line with Wakka. The latter spoke first.

"You want to see rare sights."

Then Selphie: "You want friendship."

And finally Tidus: "You're afraid of getting old."

The summation came in chorus, all three droning in an oddly familiar voice.

The voice.

"Your journey begins in the dead of night. Your road won't be easy, but a rising sun awaits your journey's end."


	2. Destiny Islands

**Chapter 1 **_Destiny Islands_

"The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."

I thought I was done with all of this… Sora sighed.

Around him was another of the strange daises, with glistening stained glass in rich blues and soft roses. An aurora of swimming light was swirling around across the platform. He walked towards it, as a slow, single ray of white light dripped down onto the floor from the wide abyss around him. Some strange power was triggered as he touched the pool of colors, for from the platform, a staircase of elegant glass chips, colored like a chapel window, wound out through the darkness.

The road, paved in glowing light, led Sora to the end of the darkness. How he was so sure that the inky shell of space had an end, he wasn't sure. But here, standing on the final platform, with no clear pattern to its wide stretch, he felt the ability to escape. But how?

"The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes."

A shaft of white light burst down like a falling star, exploding in a plume of dazzling white fire around Sora. The flames vanished in a wisp of silver fumes, gathering into a tiny white dot before him that flared out glaring light past his body. The shine cast his shadow further back, slowly rising out across the platform until its head touched the darkness around them.

In that moment, a purple mist began to cloud his shadow. And as the strange miasma spread, the shadow began to take form and peel itself from the platform, standing up so that a goliath shadow was looming over Sora in three dimensions. Its eyes burned like flaming rubies, and its hair began to spread out like a medusa. Its long fronds hissed about, fully animated over the new demon. It gained width to enormous proportions, with muscles the width of cannons.

In the center of the beast's chest, the light from the floating sphere pierced through, cutting a heart through the darkness. The symbol of love sliced through the creature's torso, leaving a gaping hole wide enough to fit a horse.

Sora stepped backwards, his foot catching the edge of the platform.

The monster leaned back, and the floating light flew across the air, settling in the hole, where it changed into a dark black force, with small, sparkling jets of electricity leaping off of it.

"But don't be afraid," rang the voice. "And don't forget."

A new voice, deep and hoarse cut through the monster, ringing as if reaching from all parts of him:

"Dark…side…"

From the heart hole, a hundred tiny bursts of blue fire flew out into the sky as the enormous being loomed forward. It no longer bore any resemblance to Sora, for its massive hands had become claws, and its long feet had curled like elven shoes.

As the burning rain came tumbling down, Darkside lunged at Sora, letting its deep black hand crash into the ground beside him. The blue fire collected around his fist, and his claw sunk down into the glass, as if it were but smoke.

Sora ran forward, suddenly realizing the iron sword from before was in his hand, and darted at the black mass. He chopped at the hand to no effect, watching as the blade went as seamlessly through the palm as the claw had entered the platform. He touched it with his foot: solid.

The monster, clumsier than Sora had expected, began to raise its fist, full of the flaming darkness, towards the air.

Sora jumped, bringing his hands onto the massive clench before him. He hoisted himself up, as the demon began to open its fingers, letting the blackness swirl around Sora's leg.

Sora began to run, up the forearm, as the tendrils released his calf, and than swam back at him, chasing like vines of evil.

Sword raised high, Sora dove out, sticking the blade in Darkside's face, watching it slip uselessly through as he fell. It eased down his nose, along his mouth, and through his throat to no avail.

But then it hit the light.

The heart shaped hole closed, the light trapped inside, sucking the sword in with it. The monster began to tremble, as cracks of flaring silver began to shatter through its figure. Sora collapsed on the ground, shaking with pain from the fall.

The creature exploded, spreading black shadows and that inky miasma all along the surface of the platform. Sora felt himself being dragged under—he knew—for the last time.

The voice rang out, tentatively, and weaker than usual.

"But don't be afraid. You hold the mightiest weapon of all… You are the one who will open the door."

¤

Slowly, Sora raised his head. The water reached to a distant sky, hidden by wide white clouds and baby blue heavens. The sun was warm, like a mother's touch to his cheek. He yawned, running gritty sand over his callous palms.

A shadow passed over the sky, accompanied by a head covered in red hair.

"Whoa!"

Kairi giggled and slid backwards as Sora sat up, looking at her.

"Gimme a break, Kairi!"

"Sora, you lazy bum. I _knew_ that I'd find you snoozing down here."

"No, that's not what it was! There was this huge black… _THING_… and it swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe… I couldn't- OW!" There was a painful throbbing in his head, which he rubbed at uselessly.

"Are you still dreaming?" she asked.

"It wasn't a dream! … Or was it? … I don't know…." His voice trailed off quietly. "What was that place? So bizarre…."

"Yeah, sure." Kairi looked away, holding her wrists behind her back as she stepped into the slow tide of the seawater. Sora realized how nice his home was. He could, at any point, simply float over the ocean, or fish back on the docks. What would it be like anywhere else? It couldn't be half as wonderful.

"Say, Kairi," he thought to ask. "What was your hometown like? You know, where you grew up?"

"I've told you before," she laughed. "I don't remember."

"Nothing at all?" he pressed. She sighed.

"Nothing."

"You ever want to go back?" he asked, stretching out before he wrapped his arms around his knees.

"Well," she paused. "I'm happy here." There was a subtle itchiness to her voice. Sora tried again.

"Really…"

"But you know," she confessed, "I wouldn't mind going to see it."

"I'd like to see it too!" exclaimed Sora. "Along with any other worlds out there! I wanna see 'em all!"

Kairi spun around, grinning wildly. Her light eyes twinkled brightly at Sora. "So what're we waiting for?"

"So," interjected a deep voice. "I guess I'm the only one working on the raft." Riku passed forward, discarding a log into Sora's hands, knocking his friend backwards onto his rear. "And you're just as lazy as he is!" he scolded Kairi.

"So you noticed," she giggled. "Okay. We'll finish it together…. I'll race you!"

"Huh?" moaned Sora.

"Are you kidding?" complained Riku.

"Ready?" she persisted. "Go!"

They leapt to their feet, flaring past Kairi as if she were insignificant. Sora tore through the sand; his bare feet maneuvering deftly over mounds and around turns. Riku, in his large shoes, spent more time in long strides and well-timed jumps. The race passed the creatively titled "Seaside Shack," whose low roof was often a target for shortcuts. Riku jumped up, tugging himself onto the planks as Sora sprinted around the hut, tearing through the sand so that a long line of clouds showed his trail.

Riku landed off of the roof, next to Sora, drawing the race to a tie between the two boys. Riku shoved, trying to knock Sora down, and Sora lunged at his arm, swinging him down to his knees. Riku snatched forward as Sora tried to escape, dragging him backwards.

Throwing off his jacket, so that his red tank top and shorts shone in the sun, he dove at Riku, pinning him. Riku jumped up, tossing his gloves to the ground to initiate the brawl. Laughing all the while they persisted to tackle and lunge, fighting skillfully with no cares at all.

"I win!" shouted Kairi.

¤

The raft was tied firmly to a stake in the sand, bobbing slowly above the waves at its resting place. The three examined it closely, pulled knots tight, and replaced damaged wood. The raft, though small and simple, was strong and durable enough to carry them a few days in the water.

Riku knew it would take them as far as they needed to go.

He slowly waddled into the water, getting waist deep in the salty sea as he began to attach the next part. Today they were building a storage compartment for the food, and had gotten all of the necessary parts.

Sora helped build the sides of the box from rope and sticks, while Riku worked hard to attach them firmly. Kairi was sewing the canvas cloth around the completed faces, in order to supply extra protection from the water.

The rest of the islanders were oblivious to this construction. Selphie, a young girl with braided brown hair, sat on the long dock on the other side of the island, engulfed in a large romance novel. Wakka, about seventeen, with fiery red hair and a passion for sports, was juggling a blue and white "blitzball" under the shade of some palm trees. When young Tidus (a sandy haired youth with unmatched aggression) pulled his small rowboat to the docks, Wakka stopped his own game to practice sword fighting.

Under the warmth of the summer sun, surrounded by the smell of old coconuts, and lathered in the distinct scent of seawater, the air of the island was that of unbridled ecstasy. The sea trickled into underwater coves, and passed through reefs of brilliant colors. There were hills of vivid green, and caverns plastered with seagull eggs and hot springs.

Throughout the day, everyone laughed and played, eating big sandwiches and guzzling fruit juice. In the afternoon they built colossal sand castles, or explored the various crannies hidden in the rocky hills at the island's center.

At sunset, all quieted down. Tidus and Wakka took a boat home, to the island not so far away, and Selphie went for a swim on the northern shore. Kairi, Riku, and Sora were left resting on a small outset in the shade of the palm trees.

The sunset was orange and purple, sparkling like spilled cider over the slowly receding waves. Gulls called lazily in the cloudless sky, and crabs scuttled across the sand.

"So," said Sora in the long silence. "Kairi's home is out there somewhere. Right?"

"Could be," replied Riku. "We'll never know by staying here."

"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora asked.

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else."

There was another pause, and Sora stretched out across the bent arch of a palm's trunk. Kairi turned a sparkling gaze at Riku. "So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?"

"Well…" Riku paused for a moment before replying. "I haven't really thought about it. It's just… I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"

Sora rolled over to face the water. "I don't know."

"That's why we need to go out there and find out! Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff.… So let's go."

Kairi trailed Sora's gaze, following the lonely flight of a gull. "You've been thinking a lot lately, haven't you?"

"Thanks to you. If you hadn't come here, I probably would have never thought of any of this…. Kairi… thanks."

She laughed. "You're welcome."

¤

Kairi entered the Seaside Shack, closing the door firmly behind her. Up across the low bridge and on the outset, Riku tapped Sora on the shoulder. Sora looked up, only to find a bright yellow, star-shaped fruit lying in his lap. Riku was headed for the shack.

He turned around, walking backwards. "You wanted one, didn't you?" he asked. Sora gazed mesmerized at the object.

"A paopu fruit…"

"You know," Riku commented with a grin. "If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it!" Riku laughed, and turned around, plunging his black, half-sized gloves in his pocket.

"What are you talking-" Sora stopped, looking up at Riku fast. The door to the shack slammed as Riku disappeared laughing. Sora shot up, discarding the paopu as he jumped off the bridge, chasing his friend for the sly remark about Kairi. One of these days, Riku was going to pay. He had to stop making comments about the two. After all, it wasn't as if he had a crush on her.

Right?

¤

_Donald Duck, magistrate to the king, royal ambassador to the people of Disney Castle, and humble advisor of the country mages._ Such read the office that the white-feathered fellow stepped out of proudly. Lifting the feathered fingers of his left wing, he adjusted the navy blue cap on his head. He snatched up his staff from the wall, and began the walk through the columned breezeway to the throne room.

The castle was tall, and built from an incredible forty-five thousand tons of pure ivory. The roof was built out of gorgeous sapphire tiling, and the windows were lined in solid crystal. In the blazing sun of the early morning, the structure shone like a lamp, blaring light across the entirety of the world.

Donald, humming proudly in his trademark quack and nasal blended voice, marched to the quarter mile high doors, knocking proudly. There was a pause, and at about eye level, an inconspicuous, miniature door gave way to his entrance.

The throne room was mammoth, with columns reaching at least a half-mile up, supporting the ivory ceiling that arched to an incredible height. There were banners with King Mickey's silhouette emblazoned in deep black on ruby red. And at the forefront of the hall, across the length of the plush red carpet, stood the great throne of the king.

Donald bowed low, sweeping his blue hat across the floor, and announced brightly, "Good morning, Your Majesty! It's nice to see you this morn-

"WHAT?"

The throne was empty. The seat was deserted by the dependable presence of the king. But disrupting the silence was a bark, and Donald jerked his head to the left, as the king's dog, Pluto, emerged his snout from behind the throne. In his mouth was a letter… stamped with the king's seal.

Donald's webbed feet tore across the room, snatching the paper from the pup as he opened it. His eyes ran hurriedly across the note, scanning the words as fast as he could, before abruptly screaming as if Armageddon had befallen the land.

Waving his hands madly over his head, he flew across the castle to the courtyard, where he found General Goofy sleeping in the comfort of a hedge shaped like the palace. His tall, green hat was over his mouth, and as he blew, it seemed animated in its wavering.

"Wake up, Goofy!" quacked Donald. "Wake up! This is serious!" Goofy continued to snore. Donald shouted, raised his finger over his head, and a bolt of lightning blew from the sky, striking Goofy's plated armor. Slowly, and with much clanking, he arose from the ground.

"Uhh…" he mumbled, "Hey there, Donald. G'morning!"

"We've got a problem, Goofy! But don't tell anyone!"

"Queen Minnie?"

"Not even the queen!"

"Daisy?"

"No! It's top secret!"

"Uhh…" said Goofy sleepily, craning his neck to see beyond Donald. "G'morning, ladies!"

"What?"

Queen Minnie tipped her head, questioningly. Daisy, however, seemed to be able to blast Donald by merely looking at him. He trembled in fear as she tapped her fingers reproachfully. But Donald should have known to let the two in, particularly his wife. And now, he was in trouble.

¤

"You guys at it again? All right. I'll be the judge." The still air hung mustily around them. It was early morning, and both Riku and Sora had just docked their boats less than half an hour ago. Gray sunlight dimly lit the southern shore, but it was clear enough to see the race course. Across deadman's bridge, a tall lookout tower climbed upwards, dropping a zip line through the hard palms and across to the toy tree. The bridge was crumbling, the palm fronds as stiff as boards, and the star-shaped tree they had made was falling apart.

_Home_, grinned Sora.

"The usual rules apply," declared Kairi. "Take any route you want. First one to tag that tree and make it back here wins."

"If I win," decided Sora, staring at Riku, "I'm captain. And if you win-"

"I get to share the paopu with Kairi."

"Huh?" Sora exclaimed.

"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi."

"Wha…" Sora argued. "Wait a minute-"

"Okay?" Kairi shouted from the water. "On my count! 3… 2… 1… GO!"

Sora burst out, his feet stripping splinters off of the decaying bridge as Riku dove forth behind him. As they crossed to the end, the strip under Riku gave, sending the gray-haired youth on an alternate route. Sora leapt for the long ladder of the lookout as he watched Riku loping up the water's edge and then sprint across another stretch of beach.

Halfway through the hard palms, Riku turned to see Sora riding the zip line across the morning skyscape. His silhouette traveled over to the toy tree, whose "clap-on" light illuminated as Sora touched a white-gloved palm to it. Riku was not far behind, scaling the cliff face as Sora leapt through the air, planting his feet on the rigid surface of the hard palms.

Riku leapt onto the canopy behind him, as they meandered hither and fro across the treetops. Kairi treaded water in the distance, watching the boys slide down the last trunks for an all out sprint to the end.

Sand leapt up around them, powdering the foliage with yellow layers. One last trip across dead man's bridge was all that was left, and Sora leapt out.

Riku's hand shoved him, and he collapsed, crashing into the water. Ten yards from the finish, Riku was grinning, sweat washing down his face, where it seeped into his green eyes and over his flushed face.

Sora had no choice.

He dropped under the surface, spreading his eyes wide in shock.

"SORA!" screamed Kairi.

Riku froze; he was inches from the finish, but something was the matter. He turned around, seeing the last bubbles glide up through the clean sea water where Sora was floating.

Riku dove in, stinging salt blinding his eyes as he grabbed Sora, lifting him up out of the surf, and dragging him to the dry land. Kairi approached hurriedly.

Inches from the sand, something hard crashed into Riku. He was pitched back, watching as Sora cast his hand onto the finish, grinning smugly back at Riku.

Surprised, Kairi froze, and then laughed aloud.

"Sora! You won!"

Riku floated alone, stunned.

¤

"Today we—meaning you—collect provisions for our trip!" Kairi giggled aloud. "Let's see. You're looking for mushrooms and fish. Oh, and maybe you could snag some coconuts on your way?"

"Sure," Sora replied.

"Oh, and fill this up," Kairi ordered.

"_Yes, your highness…_"

"Excuse me?" Kairi asked innocently.

"Nothing."

¤

Coconuts were easy enough to find, and the fish were no scientific conundrum. After an hour of bare-handed snagging in the water, Sora had a basket full of hard coconuts and small, slimy, fish. He tossed in his latest catch, dragging the basket ashore, where he lay back on the sand, watching the clouds sail across the skies.

The surf ran over his shoes, gagging his socks and squeezing his toes. Plots of sand collected in his hair, leaving its sandy color all the better named.

After a while, he stood up, tidying himself out, as he thought over his last mandate: mushrooms.

He had to gather a substantial amount, but mushrooms weren't a common item to find in the Destiny Islands, with the overbearing heat and lack of dead trees. Where could he find somewhere dank, or musty?

Wakka's voice came like a beacon, snapped out of conversation with Selphie. "Me and Tidus, we gonna go exploring today, in the Secret Place, behind the spring."

_Convenient_… Sora snickered.

¤

_Two small children, memories of a time not so very long ago. Inside of their secret place they sat, stealing glances back and forth, studying the curves of the other's face, and the protrusions of the jaw._

_Sora saw Kairi's mouth hang still just there on the edges._

_Kairi noticed where Sora's spiky hair ran flat, just at the base behind his head._

_Together, they sketched out their likenesses, each chalking the face of the other on the stone wall before them. For an hour, at least, they sat studying and carving, pressing rough white stones into the rock._

_When they finished, they sat back, staring at the other's work. It was amusing; they'd both done profiles, and both faces were smiling. It was a mad, surreal sort of grin. The kind one gets in prison, or under pressure._

_And yet still, it was happy._

_Purely happy._

¤

Sora stared down, where the old sketches were marked on the wall, where he and Kairi had drawn each other into the menagerie of images long ago. It was a masterpiece of childish drawings, though Sora knew he still couldn't draw much better. He leaned down, adding a hand to the art. The hand reached from Sora to Kairi, just stopping at her mouth. In the hand he drew a star.

A paopu fruit.

He sat back, holding a cry of glee, of pride…

Of fear.

Someone was beside him. "Who's there?" he called.

The voice that responded was strange, gruff.

"I've come to see the door to this world."

"Huh?"

"This world has been connected…"

"Wh… what are you talking about?"

The voice continued without pausing to hear Sora.

"…Tied to the darkness… Soon to be completely eclipsed."

"Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this." It was then that Sora heard the _whimf _of air beside him. He turned around, looking straight at a very tall man, hunched over beside a… door.

A door that had most certainly not been there before.

"Wh… Where did you come from?" Sora asked uncomfortably.

The man did not answer the question. "You do not yet know what lies beyond the door." He turned to face Sora.

"So you're from another world!" Now the man had Sora's interest. He would have to tell Riku. He would be ecstatic!

"There is so very much to learn. You understand so little."

The man was obnoxious.

"Oh, yeah?" Sora retorted. "Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"

"A meaningless effort. One who _knows_ nothing can understand _nothing_."

In a blast of the same darkness the demon had fought with in Sora's dream, the man vanished.

Had Sora woken up at all?


	3. Night of Fate

**Chapter 2** _Night of Fate_

Sora left, feeling rather strange about the encounter. Nevertheless, he had found his mushrooms and added them to the now full basket of comestibles. He brought it to Kairi, who was sitting on the raft, weaving a string through a chain of seashells.

Sora put down the basket and sat on the raft next to her, turning his head inquisitively toward the project.

"This?" Kairi asked, without looking up from her work. "I'm making a necklace of Thalassa shells. In the old days, sailors always wore them; they were supposed to ensure a safe voyage."

Finished, she stood up and stretched, gazing out at the low sun. Quickly and awkwardly, she laid the chain in Sora's hand, and ran down the shoreline, shoes in hand, water splattering around her feet.

Immediately, Sora fastened it around his neck. Something warm and electric buzzed deep inside. It was strange and mysterious, but happier than any other sensation he had known.

He followed her.

¤

Together they sat in complete silence, watching as the sun dipped away for the last time. They were leaving the next day: setting off on a journey to worlds unknown to anyone in their existence. It was a strange feeling, that every action had a sort of finality to it. Every gesture required grace; every statement a conclusion. There needed to be nothing left incomplete, for they never knew what would bring them back.

Back to normalcy.

Back to what they _left_.

"You know," Kairi said, still facing the sea, "Riku has changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" She paused and then sighed, staring away beyond the sea, as if her gaze could travel beneath the horizon line and sink under the waves.

"Are you okay, Kairi?"

"Sora, let's take the raft and go. Just the two of us!"

"Huh?"

"I'm just kidding."

Sora wasn't so sure that she was.

"You're the one that's changed, Kairi."

"Maybe…. You know, I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready. No matter where I go or what I see, I know I can always come back here. Right?"

"Of course!"

"That's good…. Sora… don't ever change."

"Huh?"

"I just can't wait…. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

¤

_Donald,_

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all, but I've gotta go check into it. There's someone with a "key"—the key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it? We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find _Leon._ He'll point you in the right direction._

_o_oo

_P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal._

"Oh, dear," sighed Daisy, dropping her wings to her sides in discontent.

"It means," sighed Queen Minnie, looking uncharacteristically forlorn, "that we'll just have to trust the king."

Around them were the towering columns of books that curved out and up to the grand ceiling of the castle library. They stood in the reading room, leaning over a long gray desk while taking turns scrutinizing the letter.

"Well, gawrsh," Goofy broke into the silence, "I sure hope he's all right."

"Your highness," Donald quacked. "Don't worry. We'll find the king and this 'key.' "

"Thank you," said the queen majestically. "Both of you."

"Daisy…" Donald said, turning to his wife. "Can you take care of-"

She put her hand on her stomach, swirling it around soothingly. "Of course," she replied. "You be careful, now…. Both of you."

"Oh!" exclaimed Minnie. "And to chronicle your travels, _he_ will accompany you."

Donald looked around, followed by Goofy's meandering gaze. He didn't understand whom Minnie was talking about. The room was bare as far as he could see.

A tinny pattering sound came from the left side of the table.

Donald walked over, his webbed feet splattering along the carpet, his wing dusting the table as he walked. Then, very small, at the corner of the table, Donald saw a small insect bouncing up and down on its hind legs, donning a beat up suit and bowler hat, with a miniature umbrella hanging over his shoulder.

"Over here! Cricket's the name!" shouted the small figure. "Jiminy Cricket, at your service."

The small fellow leapt into the air, releasing his umbrella at the peak of his jump such that he landed softly on Donald's beak.

"We hope for your safe return," added Minnie solemnly. "Please help the king."

Donald nodded, saluting.

The queen saluted in return.

Daisy curtsied.

Donald bowed.

Goofy tipped his hat.

Donald… gawked.

"**You're coming too**!" he cried.

¤

In the South Tower, a spiral staircase drifted downwards into the lowest cellar of the castle. The tiny world was infiltrated by the catacombs of the castle, as well as its labs and docking bay. More importantly, it was possible to walk completely _through_ Disney World, by passing underground inside the castle.

Goofy stared down at the small cricket that was floating along beside them, clenching his forest green umbrella through fingerless gloves.

"Gawrsh, Jiminy, your world disappeared too?"

"It was terrible," Jiminy explained. "We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle."

"Goofy…" Donald said, expecting the clumsy Knight Captain to catch on.

"Oh, right! I gotcha! While we're in the other worlds, we can't let on where we're from. We've gotta protect the world border!"

So close.

"_Order_."

"Right. World order."

A large, silver and metal door opened before them, granting access to an enormous docking bay, with brilliant white walls, and enormous metal contraptions in motion all around the area. A control room hung from the ceiling, lined in clear glass windows, where the figures of the crew's ground team, Sergeants Chip and Dale, could be seen scurrying back and forth, sliding on tiny swivel chairs.

Donald walked forward, leaning down to a communications pipe that curved through the floor, up the wall, and shoved its bell-shaped head into the control room.

"Donald Duck to launch crew! Anytime you're ready!"

Chip, a tiny chipmunk with a mind for mechanics scurried across the room to a large keyboard, where he and his twin brother Dale began to punch in the access codes for Donald and Goofy.

From somewhere in the ceiling, a large white glove on an accordion pole stretched down to grab Donald, plucking him like a crane game, and toting him to a large, blocky ship docked in the service bay. The hatch opened under Chip and Dale's command, and the lift dropped Donald inside. It returned for Goofy, who carried small Jiminy beside him. As the hand—which had decided to grab Goofy by the ankle—placed him in, and Donald began to initiate the rocket thrusters, Pluto, the castle dog, came bounding down the steps to wave fairwell.

With an enthusiastic leap, he pitched himself outward, falling stupidly into the empty vacuum where the ship was raring to leave. Dale hurriedly sent the glove to grab him, and undecided of what to do with him, dropped him inside the ship with the others.

"Blast off!" Donald cried.

The ship rockets burst out… and then failed, dropping the ship down instead of shooting it out.

Chip laughed, rolling on his side, and tittering giddily as Dale ran to release the emergency door. The ship departed, the boosters restoring fuel, and set away, leaving Disney World far behind.

¤

Sora gazed around his room, his head back on his pillow, and his eyes lazily lapping the ceiling. A helicopter model hung from coconut hairs, tied to the ceiling. Two paper dolls of him and Kairi sat on the floor, beaten up by time. A table had the remnants of a model train sprawled across its surface, and Sora's wooden sword was propped up against it.

Kairi's words traveled pleasantly through his head, as he tossed up a paper paopu fruit he had made when he got home.

_"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."_

His eyes lay on the dolls as a crack of thunder bellowed out in the distance.

Thunder!

"Oh, no," Sora shouted aloud, careless of the fact that he was alone. "The raft!"

¤

"Sora," called his mom, walking half up the stairs to her son's room. "Dinner's ready. Come on down!" She heard nothing but the rain outside drilling the roof around them. "Sora?" she called, walking further up, lifting her long apron away from her feet.

"Sora?" she said once more, opening his door wide, as yellow light fell over the shadowed space. The curtains were dangling through the open shutters, where spray from the tumultuous sea was splattering his sheets.

He was gone.

¤

"What's that?" Sora shouted nervously, as he leapt from his small boat to the water, to impatient to steer all the way to the dock. _Riku's boat. And Kairi's!_

The heavy, frigid waters exploded around him, chilling him like they had in his dream days ago. Limbs instantly numb, he tore for the shore, raising his head only once to check how much distance he had left.

He found footing and ran upwards along the sand, shaking in the cold as a crash of thunder was surrounded by an immense plume of gold lightning. When the flash resided, Sora saw something he had thought would never reappear.

Five black shadows, all perfect circles on the ground. Small eyes appeared on tiny heads, with long black antennas and small, but tough, bodies.

The creatures from his dream. _But how?_

He was weaponless and freezing, black rain jetting down, passing through them like bullets, only to have the skin re-grow over itself. Sora was terrified. He ran to the Seaside Shack, locking himself inside, panting for breath as the winds outside howled through the palm trees.

There was an enormous crash as a branch nearly ten yards long thundered through the shanty's wall, grazing just past his head. The building was re-opened to the elements. He tore up the stairs as the shadowed creatures came bounding in, their numbers increasing with every crash of thunder.

Flinging open the door on the roof, he looked out, across the low bridge that touched from the roof to the outset. Someone was standing there.

Riku.

Sprinting madly across, Sora tripped, gashing his wet knee along the soggy wood, so that thin blood was quickly lathering his leg.

He got up anyway, running with a limp across the planks, staring at his friend, begging with his eyes for aid.

"Where's Kairi?" Sora screamed through the brutality of the storm, the pain bringing him to the verge of tears. "I thought she was with you."

Riku turned around, his eyes almost glowing with a vicious pleasure, his brow furrowed and sharp.

"The door has opened!" he cried.

"What?" Sora bellowed, confused.

"The door has opened, Sora! _Now we can go to the outside world!_"

"What are you _talking _about? We've gotta find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us! Once we step through, we might not be able to come back! We may never see our parents again! This may be our only chance, but we can't let fear stop us! _I'm not afraid of the darkness!_"

"RIKU!" Sora cried in alarm, as one of the shadow monsters exploded behind his best friend, emitting black tendrils, like jungle vines, that ensnared his friend. Riku reached out his hand to Sora, and as if ebbed on, the shadows snapped out at Sora, who backed away in fear.

As he did, there was a flash of lightning so violent, the island was surrounded in white light. When Sora could open his eyes against the blinding flare, Riku was gone.

A voice, deep and melancholy poked through the storm, stealing his attention.

"_Keyblade…"_

"_Keyblade…"_

"_Keyblade…"_

A single phrase from the dream poked into Sora's conscious, as clear as video, and as loud as an orchestra.

"_If you give it form, it will give you strength_."

Sora remembered how his muscles had re-formed under the power of the shield, how he had chosen to aid his friends.

He had decided to be the defender.

And in his hand, something appeared.

A key.

It was long and silver, with a wide gold handle.

The same symbol he had seen on all of the icons, three black spheres, hung on a metallic chain from the key's handle. Keyblade, the voice had said.

Key.

Blade.

A monster jumped at him, and he swung the key, his eyes closed, only to hear a slashing sound filled with more air and power than he had ever witnessed. He opened his eyes, to see the shocked creature vanish in a spiral of ebony-colored smoke.

Ensnared with power, he ran forward, pitching the creatures aside like a flock of terrified birds, his Keyblade ripping them to shreds and strips fog.

He was standing at the entrance to the Secret Place, knowing beyond words that he was being drawn there, to find Kairi inside.

_"The door has opened,"_ Riku had said.

Sora was somehow not surprised to see the blue and ivory door from his dream.

No.

It had not been a dream.

That much was clear now.

He raised the Keyblade, knowing it would somehow let him in.

A beam of blue light touched the center of the door, and it flew inwards, as Sora ran in. The shadows of the cavern walls danced back as the Keyblade released powerful light around the cave. At the end, he saw the door from before that the mysterious man had alluded to. Kairi was standing inside.

"Kairi!" Sora called.

Her eyes were shadowed, as if she hadn't slept, and her hair lay downtrodden across her head. Her voice was soft and somber as she spoke: "Sora…"

The door flew open, black winds ripping out, exploding in a terrific blasting sound, as if a volcano had erupted beside an earthquake, both pitched into the rapid hurricane that seemed to be flinging itself outside the door.

Kairi was thrown limply forward, and Sora opened his arms to catch her.

She struck him and vanished, as if disappearing in his arms as the winds hurled Sora straight out of the cave, and into the air.

There was almost nothing left on the island.

He was standing on a wide circle of sand being sucked up into a strange mass in the sky. A sphere of black and purple electricity was pounding and pulsing against the raging storm, swallowing trees and debris, and even the sea into its vortex.

Beside Sora, his shadow began to rise, as if being swallowed too. But then it fleshed out, reforming his nemesis, Darkside, and standing tall to fight him on the last strip of Destiny Island that would ever exist.

Sora leapt out, screaming.

"This is your fault!" he screamed, pulling back tears, as his heart became like a lion's, fierce and enraged. "You've taken everything! You killed them!"

As he and the Keyblade leapt to the air, sticking out for Darkside's heart-shaped emptiness, the vortex's strength surged, pulling them away into darkness.

Into nothing.


	4. Traverse Town

**Chapter 3** _Traverse Town_

"Look!" Goofy exclaimed. His long, doglike snout pointed at the night sky with his long black ears dipping to the ground. "A star's goin' out!"

Donald looked up fast, passing his gaze from the rooftops to the obsidian skyline, where a vista of tiny white pinpricks slit light down to the town center. In the center of the sky, a small white star was changing its mass, first glowing outwards, and then sweeping in upon itself, crashing its little bead into an atom, before it shot out in a miasma of color. A ring of red and green was engulfed by an aura of baby blue light, coruscating across the night.

A chill ran along Donald's spine, flipping through his wing so that his staff shook in his feathers. "Come on, Goofy," he said shakily. "Let's hurry."

They turned around, Goofy whistling at Pluto to follow along. Around them were the bright lights of a town. ITEMS read a brilliant neon sign, and ACCESSORIES glowed just ahead. There were multi-colored doors leading into various residences, and an outdoor café along the main street. Donald tugged his jacket tighter around his body, quavering in the chilly night air.

"Where's that key…?" he mused.

"Hey, ya know, maybe we ought to go find Leon," Goofy responded, watching as Pluto shot out down an alleyway. "Uh, Donald," Goofy added as his ally continued on, ignoring him. "Ya know, I betcha that-"

"Aw, what do you know, you big palooka?"

"Hmm," Goofy wondered quietly. "What do I know?"

¤

"Ugh…" moaned Sora, pushing himself up on his hands. He wasn't sure where he was. The earth was hard under his fingers. The Secret Place? On the outset? No. It was too rough.

It was cobblestone. Sora opened his eyes, feeling around the ground, seeing how a bed of rocks seamlessly flowed into the trailing asphalt down the alleyway.

"Another dream?" Sora complained in exasperation.

Something large hopped up on him, pinning him back against a wall, and plastering his face with something warm and wet.

_This isn't a dream!_ he thought, shivering.

He looked down at the large yellow coat of the dog that had pinned him backwards, laughing as he realized it was just licking him playfully.

_Where am I?_ "Hey, boy! Do you know where we are?"

The dog shot off, bounding out of the back street into a well-lit open area.

"Hey!" Sora shouted, following him. "Come back!" He stepped out, getting his bearings in the unexpected onslaught of neon signs and vivid paint colors.

_This is totally weird…. I'm in another world…._

Cold and uncomfortable, Sora pushed open the door to a particularly large shop with a sign for accessories. The smoke billowing from its tall chimney was its summoning factor.

"Hey there!" called a rough foreign accent from behind a glass counter. Sora closed the door, and stepped down beside the enormous fireplace. "How can I-" began the man, before sighing. "Aw… you're only a kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Sora replied indignantly. "And the name's Sora!"

"Okay, okay. Simmer down. So why the long face, _Sora_? You lost or somethin'?"

"Well, maybe. Where am I?"

¤

"Traverse Town…." Sora said to the blonde-haired shop owner. "So, gramps. Is this really another world?"

"Don't call me gramps! The name's Cid! Anyway… not sure what you're talkin' about, but this sure ain't your island."

Cid stood up from a wooden chair he had taken to when Sora began his tale. He was tall and powerful, with short blonde hair and a wheat stalk bobbing between his teeth.

"Hmm… well then I guess I'd better start looking for Riku and Kairi."

"Well, good luck with whatever it is you're doing. If you ever run into trouble, you come to me. I'll look out for you."

Sora nodded politely and zippered up his black and white jacket to insulate the heat from the dying fire, as Cid came over to stoke the flames. With a last wave, Sora stepped back out into the night, hearing the loud _ba-rumph_ as the door clicked shut behind him.

The next sound he heard was eerily dark. Just before him on the street, a black shadow pooled outward like a puddle, releasing one of the shadow creatures out into the road. It looked around, seeing a man who was walking obliviously around the corner. The monster jumped, and pinned him to the ground, beating him to death. The shadow bounded off carelessly, as if the man had just been a roadblock, and disappeared into the night.

Sora ran over, lifting up the old man, watching his head loll over to Sora's terror, pale and vacant.

Suddenly, from just over the man's chest, a red and purple heart floated into the air. It was the picturesque kind, that bears no resemblance to the real thing, but it was just as mesmerizing, and filled with an inner light. Blue fog swirled around it and closed inwards, before exploding outwards—a supernova of power—that transformed into a large shadow creature, garbed in a knight's armor.

Red eyes glowing in the moonlight, the demon raised its head to Sora.

A gunshot sounded through the wind, knocking the creature over, where it vanished in a puff of black smoke.

"They'll come out at you out of nowhere," said a voice from the shadowed street corner.

"Who are you?" called Sora. The voice was deep and pensive: a male's.

"And they'll keep coming at you, so long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

_The Keyblade! _ Sora thought in alarm. _Where is it?_

Seemingly responding to his thought, it faded into place in his clenched fingers, leaning down along the ground as if it had been there all along.

"But why?" the man continued, stepping out into the moonlight. He was tall, and dressed in all black, from his leather jacket to his jeans and shoes. He had a sword crossed across his chest, underlining a bright red insignia on his jacket that brought out the jagged red scar that crossed his young face under a rag of black hair.

"…Why would it choose a kid like you?"

"Hey!" Sora shouted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. Now, let me see the Keyblade."

"What?" Sora said with an insane laugh. "There's no way you're getting this!" He stepped back with his rear foot, lowering himself into a fighting stance, his sword held horizontally: samurai style.

"All right," was the response. "Then have it your way."

Sora watched as the strange man held up his sword, pointing it at Sora, and saw that the hilt of the blade was actually the barrel of a gun.

Sora dove aside as three fast red lights flickered at eyelevel. The sounds and smoke followed the instant fire of the bullets that were luckily lost in the street, as Sora jumped up from his barrel roll.

Sora leapt into the air, as a strange pulse of air from the Keyblade raised him higher, tossing him forward at his opponent with unexpected speed. He brought the metal crashing down, as his opponent parried him aside, nonchalantly knocking him to the tar, and swinging the enormous sword through the air.

An endless barrage of clashes ensued, pushing each back and forward in a rhythmic, but intense series of blows, until Sora watched the man lower his finger to the trigger again.

Sora dove aside, but a bullet grazed his shoulder, nicking a piece of skin in an incredibly painful blast. The man swung down with his sword.

Sora parried, luckily, but the downswing was so awesome, it shoved him down at the ground still harder, expelling air like a geyser.

"Now…" Sora gasped. "You're… gonna… you're gonna…."

Darkness.

A girl's voice.

"You're slipping, Leon."

The male's.

"I went easy on him. But it looks like things are worse than we thought. A lot worse."

¤

Behind the main walls of buildings lay an infinite canal of back roads, one which had a long open sewer running into some backwater cavern deep inside the town walls. This was where Donald and Goofy continued, their feel sloshing through beads of water that lined the stone ground.

"Gawrsh," said Goofy, continually looking behind him. "There's nobody here. Sure is spooky."

"Aw, phooey," Donald responded. "I'm not scared."

But he was, as he found out when a thin finger gently rested on his shoulder.

"Goofy," he asked, trembling.

"No," said a young, female voice. "Don't say a word. Follow me."

Donald opened his beak to argue, but the girl raised a finger to her lips. "I'm with the king," she murmured, and turned into the shadows, gesturing for them to follow.

¤

"Come on, lazy bum. Wake up."

Sora shuffled about in his bed, once more finding himself staring at a head of short-cropped, rose red hair.

"You okay?" Kairi asked. "Those creatures that attacked you are after the Keyblade. But it's your heart they really want: because you wield the Keyblade."

"Oh. Uh… yeah, I'm fine. Boy. I'm glad you're okay, Kairi."

"Kairi?" the girl asked. "Who are you talking about? I'm the great ninja, Yuffie."

Sora squinted, and realized he had mistaken the light behind this girl for red hair. Yuffie was Kairi's size, unfairly, but she had black hair and a more tomboy frame. She was garbed in a swirling, beaten outfit of green and yellow, with a slur of ninja stars strapped to her waist.

"I think you might have overdone it, Squall."

"That's Leon…" reprimanded the man from earlier. Sora looked closer through the warmer indoor light, and saw he was much younger than his voice let on. He was carrying something just out of view. Sora rubbed the crust from his eyes and sat up, looking closer.

"Give it back," Sora said, rather testily.

"The Keyblade…"Yuffie said, sitting down on the bed. "Yeah, we had to get it away from you to shake off those creatures. It turns out that that's how they were tracking you."

"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them," Leon added, walking across the room to the window, where a slow stream of moonlight danced downward from the glass. "But it won't work for long…. It's so hard to believe that you, of all people, are the chosen one."

In a swirling band of light, the Keyblade vanished from Leon's hand, and re-formed in Sora's lap.

"But I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"Why don't you start making sense?" Sora stammered. "What's going on here?"

¤

"Okay, you know there are many other worlds out there, right?" asked the girl from the alley, flicking a large brown pigtail aside. She had revealed her name to Sora and Donald seconds ago:

Aerith.

She had a flowing pink dress and a large pink ribbon suspending her hair above her shoulders.

Donald shook his head from shock, as if he were trapped in a sort of reverie, but then came to. "Yeah," he squawked.

"But they're supposed to be a secret," Goofy pointed out, reading Donald's surprise.

"They've been secret," said Aerith, her voice soothing and wise, "because they've never been connected. Until now. When the Heartless came, everything changed."

¤

"The Heartless?" Sora asked, staring perplexedly at Leon.

"The ones who attacked you. You remember?" Yuffie explained, staring at him plainly.

"Those without hearts," Leon said. "The darkness in people's hearts—that's what attracts them. And there is darkness within every heart."

Yuffie turned her head from her friend to Sora.

"Have you heard of someone named Ansem?"

¤

"Ansem?" Goofy asked.

"He was studying the Heartless," explained Aerith. "He recorded all of his findings in a very detailed report."

"Gawrsh, uh, can we see it?"

"I'm afraid the pages have been both lost…"

"And?" begged Donald.

"And Stolen," finished Aerith, her tone taking on a subtle edge.

"Oh!" shouted Goofy, surprisingly loud. "Then maybe the king went to find 'em!"

"Yes," nodded Aerith. "Those were my thoughts exactly."

"We've gotta help him, and quick!" Goofy cried, proudly hoisting his shield into the air.

"Wait!" Donald cried, breaking Goofy's dignified poise. "First, we need to find that 'key!'"

"That's right," Aerith added, almost forgetting. "The Keyblade."

¤

"So…" Sora said, slowly proud. "This is the key."

"Exactly," Yuffie nodded.

"The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade," said Leon, his gaze still locked somewhere outside the window. "That's why they'll keep coming after you… no matter what."

"Well, I didn't ask for this…" Sora complained.

"_You know I didn't_," Leon muttered under his breath.

"The Keyblade chooses its master," Yuffie remarked intentionally loudly. "And it chose _you._"

"So tough luck," grunted Leon.

"How did all this happen," asked Sora, sliding back beneath the covers. "I remember being in my room…. Wait a minute! What happened to my home? Riku! … _Kairi_…"

"You know what?" Leon said, finally turning around, a look of silent discontent washed across his face. "I really don't know. Sooner or later, they'll find you. The Heartless are ruthless. You'd best prepare yourself."

"Prepare myself?"

"To fight for your life." He turned to his companion. "Yuffie. Let's go join Aerith. She should be there by now… with the other visitors."

A loud crash threw the window into a blast of shards, sprinkling in the wide moon beams like acid rain.

"LEON!" Yuffie shrieked, her hands already in the air, positioning her stars to assault the Heartless attacker.

"Yuffie," Leon yelled, pointing at the next door, unsheathing his gunblade in a flash of silver. "Go!"

¤

Unexpectedly, as Donald reached for the handle, the tall red wood of the door spread him flat against the wall, as a figure came tearing through the room, grabbing Aerith's hand.

"Yuffie?" Aerith asked.

Both doors to the room closed at once, leaving Goofy and Donald alone.

And terrified.

¤

"Sora, let's go!" shouted Leon, who flung open the rear doorway in a frenzy, tearing off down the fire escape.

Sora lifted up the Keyblade, flinging the covers a distance from his bed as he leapt up, and dove out at the Heartless invader. The sound of its metal suit collapsing, crushing the feeble shadow into nothing, was an oddly refreshing sound.

The sound of evil crunching.

Sora ran out and jumped off the railing, falling a story below beside Leon, just as a massive bubbling came from the stagnant channel of sewer water sitting ahead of them.

Black spheres rose to the surface and burst as a wave of Heartless soldiers crawled murkily from the liquid. A cold breeze swung by, wrapping Sora's jacket conveniently around him.

"Don't bother with the small fry!" Leon called over a barrage of shots from his gunblade. "Find the leader!" He leapt out, tearing madly through the attackers with his sword, chopping at the bug-like shadows, and destroying the armored ones.

"I'm on it!" Sora called back, slipping away into the shadows to scour the town.

¤

Traverse Town was split into Three Districts. The First District held all of the shops, like Cid's ACCESSORIES and the outdoor café. Residences layered the Second District, including the hotel where Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith spoke with their new companions. The Third—and final—District was a large plaza, with a tall pouring fountain that spewed water from the shaggy mouths of a Doberman lass and a scoundrel mutt. Golden light spewed from beneath the water, trailing through the arch of crystalline liquid that rushed quietly in the backdrop.

Over the Third District, Donald crept slowly around the balcony of an abandoned watchtower as Goofy watched a shaggy brown-haired kid sneak by below.

Donald made a hushing noise and gestured with a single feather for Goofy to follow him. Hoisting up his baggy pants, Goofy slowly tip-toed forward, peering around the corner of the external wall.

"Are these the Heartless guys?" Goofy asked, furrowing his eyebrows, and raising his shield.

¤

Sora looked up quickly, as a loud, nasal voice cried something to the effect of, "Let's go get 'em, Goofy!"

He looked around, searching for the source of the noise above him, only to suddenly hear a loud wailing noise as the light above was obstructed by two large, gangly objects.

That crashed hard into Sora.

¤

Donald lifted his head, the light and world around him swirling in an untidy mass of color. As his vision focused, he raised his head out of the scruffy mane of milk chocolate hair beneath him. Just ahead, in the hand of his victim, was something long and gold.

"_THE KEY_!" he and Goofy cried in unison.

At that instant, the tiles lining the edges of the plaza began to shake, and the three warriors stood up, holding their weapons: blade, shield, and staff, as the tiles began to rise like hills from the ground, forming a tall purple wall around them.

They were trapped.

Six Heartless rose over the barrier in the distance, jumping down and landing in the tall fountain. Their armor was glowing a deep mauve, and began to rattle, slowly gliding away and into the air around them. The Heartless, naked and formless, leapt into the air, merging into an odd, blobby black shape, as the metal, too, reconstructed itself.

The six Heartless had combined to become a steel goliath, with floating hands and feet, completely disconnected from the torso, clad in a purple and silver nightmare of glowing iron. Beneath the dark shadows of the helmet, red eyes glowed like the other Heartless, but with an extra intensity, unusual for its others.

Without having yet shared a word, the trio charged the monster, who raised one large hand, flexing it in the air, before swatting them away easily. Growing accustomed to its form, it began to march, stomping iron-clad boot on the ground in an increasingly perfected speed.

Sora lunged in, diving under its hand and between the torso and feet, popping up behind it. It clumsily tried to turn around as Sora crashed the Keyblade into the boots, shoving them out, trying to knock the enemy down.

To his dismay, the detachment of the limbs was so pure, that this seemed not to affect it in the least. Goofy leapt up, flinging out his shield with a mad "hyuck!" and watched as the loose head began to spiral in the air.

Separate now were the hands and chest, and the palms began to swing in a circular motion, revolving at deadly speeds around the abdomen. They swirled forth like helicopter blades, chasing Sora around the plaza.

"_Thunder_!" commanded Donald, as a bolt of golden electricity came firing down from a vortex in the air, shooting through the armor like a bullet.

The torso collapsed to the ground, the hands slowing down and tilting up, as if in fear. Sora took this moment to leap up, once again aided by a release of air from the Keyblade, so that he could reach his target. He swerved into the hands, slamming them again and again into the wall of the Third District, watching as the glow faded away and the gauntlets crashed to the ground.

The feet were still stomping in the distance, the head bobbing about somewhere above. Goofy rammed into the shoes, shoving hard as Donald cast a spell of fire from his staff that melted the boots down into a steaming puddle.

Alone and out of range, the head began whizzing away, trying to flee.

A gunshot cut through the air.

Leon stood on the wall's ledge, lowering his gunblade as a thin line of gray smoke faded into the night. The head fell on the torso, knocking it aside, as the last bit of radiance faded from the beast's armor.

From the open neck of the bell-shaped torso rose a familiar, pink and blue shape. A heart.

Surrounded by electricity and glowing with its own brilliance, it rose towards the sky, fading into invisibility.

The Heartless finally bore its name with truth.


	5. Wonderland

**Chapter 4** _Wonderland_

"So, you were looking for me?"

"Uh, huh," said Goofy.

"You know," Sora said, "the Heartless were looking for me too. How do I know I can trust you?"

Someone's hand hit Sora in the back of the head. He whirled around, regaining composure as he saw Leon's tough figure.

"They helped you beat the Guard Armor," Leon reminded him.

"Is that what that big Heartless was called?"

"No," Leon said rudely and sarcastically, hitting him again.

"Sorry," apologized Sora, caressing his newfound lump.

"Hey!" Donald squawked, his wings flapping in excitement. "Why don't you come with _us_? We can go to other worlds on our vessel."

Sora froze, looking around him at the bare Third District, where all the building lights were off, shadowing deserted, empty rooms of lonely, hollow households. He thought about his friends. They wouldn't be here. He figured he would have seen them already.

But then why had he ended up here? Why had he landed on this world… this small town… separate from his friends? The horrible explanation crossed his mind time and again: what if they hadn't survived. He didn't believe it, though. Something far more powerful burned a connection between them.

They were somewhere, but not here.

"We'll look for Riku and Kairi…" Sora asked.

"And find them," Donald quacked.

Goofy yanked him aside, pointing his long nose at Donald's beak.

"Are you sure?" he asked, wanting to be honest.

"Who knows?" Donald asked. "But we need him to come with us to help us find the king."

"Sora," Leon directed, though he had overheard. "Go with them. Especially if you want to find your friends."

"Yeah," Sora sighed. "I guess."

Donald spun around, grinning at him. "But you can't come along looking like that. Understood? No frowning. No sad faces. Okay?"

"Yeah," said Goofy with teeming ebullience. "Ya gotta look funny. Like us!"

Goofy made an utterly ridiculous face, somehow seeming to rearrange his features until Donald shoved his head aside.

"This boat runs on happy faces."

"Happy?" Sora said, sounding disgusted. He turned around, heaving in a big breath of air. Then he spun around again, his smile stretching up and around his nose, like a crescent moon being tugged at the ends by pulleys.

Even Leon laughed.

"That's… one… funny face!" Goofy said, between blatant snorts and laughter.

"Okay. Why not?" Sora smiled. "I'll go with you guys."

"Donald Duck," Donald said, stretching out a wing.

"Name's Goofy." Goofy put a gauntlet on Donald's feathers.

"I'm Sora," Sora smiled, his hand landing at the top.

"All for one, and one for all!"

¤

The room was bathed in a green shadow, drowning out nearly everything in darkness. Even those circled around the table could hardly see each other. Green torches were hung sporadically at the very top of the walls, with a sole chandelier on the far side of the high-ceiling, barely illuminating anything at all.

A blue flame burned a bit above eye-level as someone just beneath it leaned into the circle. The fire illuminated a blue skin, and piercing gray eyes like sterling silver. "That little squirt took down the heartless! Who'd a thought it?"

Beside him, another man leaned in, a staff with glowing gold eyes illuminating the tall red crown on his head folded back in a potent symbol of power. "Such is the power of the Keyblade," he remarked. The child's strength is not his own."

Someone else leaned in, and through the shadows, long slithering objects moved about beneath her, like snakes or tentacles. "Why don't we turn him into a heartless?" she proposed, making a vicious gesture with her hands. "That'll settle things soon enough."

"And the brat's friends are the king's lackeys." It was a distinct sailor's accent. "Swoggle me eyes, they're _all _bilge rats by the look of them."

"You're no prize yourself!" snickered someone else, who was tossing luminescent dice in a seemingly covered hand.

"Shut up!" yelled the pirate.

"Enough," came a cold voice, like steel being forged over frost. A green flame washed in behind the table, revealing the figure of a tall, black-robed witch. Her skin was green behind the emerald lighting, with long black fingernails and violent yellow eyes. As she smiled, her pale white teeth looked sharp beneath her thorn black wimple. "The Keyblade has chosen him," she said, pointing at the middle of the table, where a fading image of Sora magically appeared, floating in three dimensions. "Will it be he who conquers the darkness? Or will the darkness swallow him? Either way, he could be quite useful…"

¤

The Gummi Ship had been docked outside the town gates, where Sora could suddenly see the vast expanse of space all around him. There was long stone bridge to a floating platform, suspended over the endless sky around them. A completely transparent glass surrounded the walkway, inputting the air that had escaped outside the city. Breathing comfortably, the trio watched the stars shine around them, and the occasional comet blast by beneath. They turned around at the end of the port, staring back at the absurdly small world of Traverse Town, with its glowing lights illuminating the celest.

Donald punched an access code into a keypad not unlike a parking meter. The bay door opened, and the three of them descended into the ship, Pluto dashing along behind them.

"You'll like it in here," Jiminy said, from a pocket in Goofy's vest. After the initial shock of realizing that he had been addressed by a cricket, Sora smiled and said a quick thanks.

"It really is cozy, kinda like a living room in space," Jiminy added.

"Won't be so comfortable once we take off," said Donald.

Goofy gave a melancholy nod and sat down in one of the two pilots' chairs, as Donald settled down in the one beside him. Sora buckled up in the seats behind, Pluto sprawled across his lap.

The roof receded to reveal a glass bubble surrounding the cockpit, so that they could see the space around them.

"All systems check," Donald squawked.

Goofy managed various gauges and meters, flipping buttons and levers, until he finally announced, "All systems go."

Pluto gave an enthusiastic bark.

"Ignition."

¤

The ship was very fast, its increasing G-Force speed pitching everyone deep into their (luckily) overly plush seats. As Sora adjusted, he began to gaze at the void around them, where the stars went rocketing past close by, whereas farther ones would seem to stand in the same place forever.

"What's that?" Sora asked pointing up ahead.

"It's armed," Goofy warned, pointing to two large black guns on the underside.

"It's a Heartless ship," Donald suddenly said, seeing a strange red insignia on the nose. It was a red heart, with a sharp black, vine-like "x" across the center. From the point of the heart stretched a branch of more red, long and pointed like a French crest.

"Take it out!" said Sora. A fast beam of light shot from the bottom of the Gummi ship, tipping the craft about. The distant Heartless ship blew up in a flash of blue and red fire. A swarm of its companions came seemingly from nowhere.

"Down there!" Donald shouted, pointing to a large, colorful planet beneath them. It was considerably larger than Traverse Town, and it seemed to be daytime where the ship was headed. They landed quickly, almost missing half of the essential precautions for landing.

The ship began to release booster jets in various places, like wild fungus, and the Gummi slowed, hovering slowly as it shoved out blades of lively grass like a landing helicopter.

Above the glossy white clouds, the Heartless ships had disappeared.

"Might as well explore this place," Sora said, as the crew parked the ship, and unbuckled their seatbelts.

Pluto bounded across the cockpit to the door way, which ground open, releasing a fresh, floral smell into the air.

They looked around, to find themselves in a wide meadow, with a small forest of trees on the other side beside a large cottage. A wave of fragrant white daisies cascaded about in the shade of a booming grand willow tree. Sunlight spiraled down onto the ground, illuminating the path of a white rabbit that had just run by.

With a tailcoat and a pocket watch.

Sora ran up to it, trying to catch its attention.

"Excuse me!" he shouted.

"Oh, my fur and whiskers!" cried the rather fat rabbit. "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!"

"Oh my," said Goofy.

"No time to say hello. Goodbye! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"

"What are you so late for?" asked Sora, running beside the tardy critter.

"I'm here! I'm here! And yet I should be there! The queen will say it's off with my head, and oh, my pure white hair!"

"What?" asked Donald, running just a bit behind.

"Oh my!" the rabbit shouted, and bounded into a small hole in a hill, that was pitch dark only inches in.

"What could a rabbit possibly be late for?" asked Donald.

"It must be awfully important," said Goofy. "Like a party or something."

"What a strange place to have a party," Sora said, looking into the burrow. "Oh well, let's follow him."

His head was already inside the mound.

"I don't know," said Goofy. "We really shouldn't be doing this. After all, we haven't been invited! And curiosity seems to keep leading us to trouble!"

With no response, he decided to follow them in. Slowly and steadily, the threesome crawled forward, easing their way into the darkness, finding that the hole grew conveniently larger. Crumbling brown dirt closed them in, making a tight, stifling crawl all the more unbearable.

"Why are you stopping?" asked Donald, brushing a pile of dust out of his beak.

"There's a cutoff here," Sora shouted. He leaned over the edge, reaching out to feel for a bottom. "It's a large hole. We could chance diving in. I don't know how deep it is…"

"I guess that's alright…" said Donald. "Goofy?"

"Uh-what?" said Goofy, trying to sit up. He unfortunately banged his head, and lunged forward, pressing his hands to his forehead. He bumped Donald, whose surprised quack startled Sora, who lost his grip and fell.

"Sora!" Donald cried, rapidly crawling forward.

"What happened?" said Goofy, squeezing into the gap beside his feathered friend.

"Sora's down there. You okay, Sora?" Donald called.

"YEAH!" Sora called back, from far below. "Come on! It's alright!"

The two, suddenly stuck, began to wiggle and shove, until Goofy's large foot came up beside Donald and pitched him in, head first.

"Uh, whoops…" Goofy moaned, taking the plunge himself. "Here goes."

¤

The hole was unfathomably long, and defied gravity to such an extent, that Sora found himself floating as light as a feather down the endless tunnel. _When I get home,_ he thought quietly to himself, _I'll think nothing of falling down stairs._

Donald and Goofy flew quickly down until they neared him, and once more, the mysterious antigravity took effect, and they halted like a released parachute, suddenly drifting quaintly downward.

Surrounding them in this mysterious rabbit hole were many wood panels, all lining the walls. Locked in the air around them were paintings and desks, table lamps and bookshelves, bird cages, footstools, and cabinetry, generally attached to the walls, but sometimes simply suspended in the shaft, so that they would have to "swim" around the objects.

When they finally landed, it was gracefully on their feet, save Goofy, who had found a way to crash down upon his head.

Just before them, still lined in the rectangular wooden panels, was a curving hallway, by whose light they could see the shadow of the white rabbit flying by.

They pursued him down the corridor, to a tall, arched blue door.

Sora flung it open.

Behind it was a green door, quite a bit smaller.

Donald pushed Sora aside and flung it open.

Behind it was a red door, quite a bit smaller.

Goofy lifted Donald up by a webbed foot, and pulled this next door open on his own.

Naturally, behind it was a series of more doors, which Sora ripped open angrily, one by one, until there was a tiny little opening, hardly big enough to crawl through, leading them into a very bizarre room.

The room, or rather hall, before them, was enormous. On the right was a fireplace that had become a beautiful, purple, brick oven. The left side of the room had two chairs and a bed, all matching the soft roses and mauves around them. The floor before them was completely bare, but Sora saw many rabbit-head-shaped picture frames behind him, suggesting that the rabbit indeed lived here. Goofy pointed forward.

At the very bottom of the opposite wall was a tiny little brown door, no bigger than Sora's thumbnail, which closed quickly as they entered.

"I bet that was the rabbit!" quacked Donald.

"But how did he get so small?" Sora asked.

A new voice—curt and refined—piped up from somewhere on the same wall: "You're simply too _big_."

"It talks!" Donald shouted, pointing at the doorknob. The small brass had in fact two eyes, and its keyhole served as a sort of mouth.

_How peculiar_, thought Sora.

"Must you be so loud?" the knob asked Donald. "You woke me up."

"Oh," Goofy chuckled. "G'mornin'!"

"Good night!" said the doorknob indignantly. "I need a bit more sleep."

"Wait!" Sora shouted at the little door. "What do we have to do to get through?"

"Sorry," said the doorknob. "Simply impassible at your height!"

"Don't you mean impossible?" asked Sora.

"No!" remarked the doorknob in surprise. "Of course I mean impassible! Nothing's impossible! Why don't you try the bottle on the table? Read the directions, and directly you'll be in the right di-_rect_ion."

Sora turned around, only to see a table he was positive had not been in the room earlier. On it was a tiny glass jar, as if for jam, that said "Drink me." Sharing it with his companions, he did just that. It tasted of milk and sugar, with candy corn and caramel.

"Cherry tart," mused Sora, as a blister of cold air funneled around him.

"Custard…" Goofy added. "And Pineapple!"

"Roast turkey and… wah!" yelled Donald. They looked around.

They were barely an inch tall.

Adjusting to their uncomfortably small height, they tottered hazily towards the door, taking an unbelievably large time. After traversing a desert of linoleum tiles, they finally reached the sleeping doorknob.

Gently, Sora eased it open, entering into a wide green garden lined in tall, lively hedges.

"Silence!" bellowed a booming female from across the way. Sora saw the rabbit sprint up a row of stair-shaped topiaries as he drew out a trumpet, blowing desperately into it, before making a hasty pronouncement:

"Court is now in session!"


	6. Trial By Trickery

**As a brief note:** If you have read Chapter 4 before 11/23 there are some Wonderland-based updates which should make it more enjoyable for fans of the movie, and held make it more manageable as a narrative. Feel free to give comments on anything you've read so far. What I've gotten have been so wonderfully positive, it's the only reason I'm really running with this. Readers, you're awesome.

**Personal note to Hikaranko:** I was feeling totally uninspired in relation to Wonderland, but I found a copy of your novelization through the Colliseum sitting in the back of one of my drawers. I skim read your approach, and I was rather inspired. Consequently to my amusement, Disney Channel played the movie last night, so now here is the product of that, through the tea party garden.

Everyone, enjoy!

**--- **

**Chapter 5** Trial by Trickery

"Oh!" remarked a young girl near Sora's age. She had long blonde hair tied up with a blue ribbon, and a wide blue dress that seemed to fluff out around her. "I'm on trial!" she remarked, suddenly connecting a personal trail of dots. "But why?" she asked.

Without response, the white rabbit blew his trumpet again, and turned to a highly raised throne. "Her majesty," announced the rabbit, "The Queen of Hearts, presiding!"

On the throne to which the rabbit had gestured, sat an enormously fat woman with a tiny gold crown on her wild black hair. Her dress looked like a playing card, with a glimmering red heart painted boldly across it.

"The girl is the culprit!" shouted the queen. "There's no doubt about it! And the reason is… well… because I say so! That's why!"

"That is _so _unfair!" contorted Alice.

"Well," remarked the queen. "Have you anything to say in your defense?"

"Why of course!" shouted Alice. "I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so… so mean!"

"Silence!" bellowed the queen. "You dare defy me?"

The shouting match trailed on. Sora looked at Donald, helplessly. "Guys, we've gotta help her out!"

"Yeah, but the-" started Donald.

"We're outsiders," added Goofy. "So wouldn't that be muddling?"

"Meddling!" Donald yelled in correction.

"Oh, yeah!" chuckled Goofy. "And that's against the rules."

Across the lawn, high above Alice's terrified figure, the Queen of Hearts pounded her heart-shaped gavel randomly upon the wood before her. "The court finds the defendant guilty as charged!" she cried. "For the crimes of assault, and attempted theft of my heart… off with her head!"

Alice's feet shook her back in alarm.

"No!" she cried. "No! Oh, please!"

"Hold it right there!" interjected Sora. Donald reached to pull him back, but Sora shook the wing off.

The queen leaned over, her brow furrowing as her lips curled devilishly in a disturbingly impish grin.

"And who are _you_?" she sneered. "How _dare_ you interfere with my court?"

"We know who the real culprit is," Sora said.

"Uh-huh!" laughed Goofy. "It's the Heartle-"

He clamped his hands tightly over his mouth, as the queen gave a puzzled glance to his surprised reaction.

"Anyway," covered Sora, "she's not the one you're looking for."

"That's nonsense," retorted the Queen of Hearts gruffly. "Have you any proof?"

Before Sora could reply, a card guard—a playing card with a head and limbs—tossed Alice in a large birdcage, slamming the door with a heavy clanging. As he pulled a lever, everyone watched the cage go soaring ten yards into the air, level with the queen's throne.

"Bring me evidence of Alice's innocence," thundered her booming voice. "Fail and it's off with all of your heads!"

¤

A black wood loomed before them, growing just past the hedge-walled court where they had left. Dark emerald canopies clutched neighboring trunks like an archway, covering the forest like a helmet, through which not a single droplet of sunlight fell.

Across the black, fog covered ground, a white semi-circle danced jollily about, like a child's cut out for arts class.

And then it began to sing:

"_Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, _

_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe. _

_All mimsy were the borogoves, _

_And the momeraths outgrabe._"

"Who are you?" croaked Donald to the cut-out. As it spoke, a purple form faded in around it.

It was a cat.

A purple, grinning cat and the shape was its mouth.

"Who indeed?" asked the cat, grinning wider. "Poor Alice. Soon to lose her head, and she's not guilty of a thing!"

"Hey if you know who the culprit is, tell us!" Sora barked.

"Very well! Second chorus!

"_Twas brillig, and the slithy toves-_"

"That's not helping!" moaned Donald.

"_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe-_"

"Please!" begged Goofy to the crazy cat.

"_All mimsy were the borogroves-_"

"Look," halted Sora. "Just tell us if you can help or not."

"He went that way," pointed the cat at a place deep inside the wood.

"Who did?" asked Sora.

"The Heartless."

"He did?"

"He did what?"

"Went that way," complained Sora.

"Who did?" asked the cat.

"The Heartless!"

"What Heartless?"

"But didn't you just say... I mean... oh, never mind!"

"Can you stand on your head?" asked the cat, suddenly plucking off his own head like a lid, and dropping it under his foot.

"Oh!" Sora blurted.

"However, if I were looking for a Heartless, I'd ask the Mad Hatter."

"The Mad Hatter?" asked Sora.

"Or, there's the March Hare. In that direction," said the cat, pointing deep into a different stretch of the wood.

"Uh, thank you," said Goofy. "I- I think we'll visit him."

"Of course, he's mad too," laughed the cat.

"But we don't want to be around mad people!" argued Donald.

"Oh, you can't help that. Almost everyone is mad here. Ha... ha ha ha ha ha! You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself... You see the Cheshire Cat has all the answers, but doesn't always tell. The answer, the culprit, the cat, all lie in darkness,"

"Wait," cried Sora as the cat began to fade away, its pearly white smile flickering for but a moment more.

"_And the momeraths outgrabe…_"

¤

Deep within the wood, Sora stopped walking, and dropped down on his back, staring at the canopy above him. A light breeze rustled over his face, brushing leaves across the sky over his head. Donald turned around to face him, and silently sat down. Goofy followed along beside him.

Sora was lost in thought, dreaming of Kairi and Riku. He couldn't remember them as well; it had been so long. They were faces and fast memories. He treasured the last days on the island like magic, as if enough reflection could summon the past, and wipe away the forest around him.

He closed his eyes, seeing Kairi stand in the distant fog behind his eyelids. He reached up, not caring if Goofy and Donald were watching, and then her image twinkled, fading.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

"What's a matter, Sora?" asked Goofy, coming over beside him.

"Nothing," said Sora, zippering up his jacket tighter and wiping at his face. "Let's just go."

But it was obviously not just "nothing." He had a feeling he didn't want to admit.

His friends weren't there.

They weren't even close.

¤

With the wind came a nasty smell, like dust and fumes.

Sora looked past him, where a puff of smoke had scattered over his face, its blue tint dissipating into the air.

"Did you see that?" he asked his companions.

"There!" cried Donald, pointing behind a high brush on the side of the path.

Behind the tall grass was a channel of multi-colored smoke. As they got closer, they could make out shapes in the fumes.

Letters.

**H**

**E**

**A**

**R**

**T**

Sora ran forward, finding himself in a part of the forest where tall red mushrooms had overgrown around the trees. On top of one was a long caterpillar, puffing at an enormous cigarette. On all of his many feet were curled golden slippers, and his oval face was smug and haughty, as if he were the most important figure of the forest.

"Who," said the Caterpillar as a large, long **O** puffed through the air, "are…"

**R**

"You?"

**U**

"Why don't you tell us who you are, first?"

"Need I explain?" he said, soon realizing that yes, he need. "I,"

**I**

"am the caterpillar. Who are you?" Sora coughed through another **O R U** as Donald and Goofy came running up beside him.

"Have you seen a shadow?" asked Donald, cutting any conversation short.

"That was not spoken correcitally," warned the caterpillar. "You mean a Heartless. The Tulgey Wood is full of shadows." From the pipe end of the cigarette came a bubbly blue shape that re-formed into the shape of the small, bug like Heartless from the islands.

"You know what they are?" cried Sora.

"Know?" asked the Caterpillar, another **O** rolling through the air, around the Heartless cloud, before extinguishing it in a puff of smoke. "Of course I know. Follow the path to the Tea Party. The hare and the hatter are waiting. But _who are you_?"

"It doesn't matter!" said Sora, disappearing angrily into the wood.

"Wait!" shouted the caterpillar, a smoke ring shooting from his cigarette in the shape of the hand, which swung in front of Sora's face. "I have something important to say!"

"What?" asked Sora, returning to the mushrooms.

"Keep your goal in sight. Do not let yourself get sidetracked."

"Is that all?" asked Sora, frustrated at his wasted effort.

"NO! Exacitically what is your problem?"

"A girl named Alice is being tried for a crime she didn't commit. I have to find evidence, and according to you and that insane cat-"

"That was not spoken correcitally," said the caterpillar again, incorrectly. "You mean the _Cheshire_ Cat."

"I know! You and him say we have to talk to some looney hatter and his hare, and somehow they're going to lead us to a single Heartless that are completely abundant anywhere else, so that we can convince that mad queen that she's totally off her rocker."

"I see," said the caterpillar, taken aback. "Then follow the music."

Angrily, he crawled away, disappearing into the night.

"Sora," asked Goofy hesitantly. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," said Sora, his shoulders sinking in calm. "Sorry about that. Let's just go. He said to follow the music? I think I can hear something that way."

¤

"_Statistics prove …_

_Prove that you've one birth-day!  
Imagine just one birthday every year!"_

"_Ah, but there are 364 un…birthdays  
Precisely why we're gathered here to cheer:_

_A very merry unbirthday to you  
"To me!"_

"_A very merry unbirthday!"_

"_For me?" _

"_For you!_

"_Now blow the candle out, my dear _

_And make your wish come true!_

_A very merry unbirthday to you!" _

"What dreadful singing," complained Sora.

Donald failed to retain a laugh.

Goofy whistled the tune behind them.

They came upon the gate of a tiny little house, perched inside a wide clearing. The cottage was round and large, with a wild straw roof, and tumbling brick walls. Inside of the enclosed yard was a long green table, with hundreds of oddly shaped tea kettles and sugar pots, all scattered on multi-colored doilies, between a pair of very strange looking people.

A squat little man with an enormous hat was dancing about on the arms of one tall chair. He had on a small tan vest draped over a green work shirt, which hung untidily over his stubby trousers and clown-sized dress shoes. His tongue seemed trapped outside of his mouth, shadowed by the hook of a bird-like nose that protruded from his crossed eyes.

Across from him, singing in a deadly wrong key was a tall brown rabbit, thin and gangly in clothes fit for a business trip, but certainly not for this mad little tea party. He shivered his whiskers and ruffled his blond hair as he broke into another round of the insane "un-birthday" song.

Sora maneuvered to a seat, trying to get their attention, and the March Hare abruptly stopped his raucous singing.

"No room, no room, no room, no room, no room, no room, no room!" barked the Mad Hatter.

"There's plenty of room!" cried Sora as the duo began to shift into the seats directly before him, intercepting his movements. He hadn't really wanted to sit down anyway.

"Ah, but it's very rude to sit down without being invited!" cried the Hare.

"I say it's rude. It's very very rude, indeed! Hah!" yelled the Hatter.

"So you're invited," came a tiny little voice. It grew very silent as everyone turned to the sugar bowl, whose lid had popped open to reveal a very tiny dormouse, with small eyes spread drunkenly sideways.

"Uhh… thank you," said Goofy, "but we're not thirsty."

"Don't be ridiculous," cried the Hatter, his tongue and spittle flying about as he excitedly jumped up again on the chair, doing very little for his tiny height. "It's an unbirthday party!"

The Hare spun his chair around quickly, looking up at Sora and his friends. "It's very simple. Now, thirty days have Sept—no—when... an unbirthday, if you have a birthday then you... oh! I've got it now. You see, you get only one birthday a year," he explained.

"And that's just nonsense!" exclaimed the Hatter. The little man reached over to a kettle and began to nonchalantly pour tea into his hat.

"So we celebrate the other three hundred and sixty-four days: your unbirthdays!"

"Then it's my unbirthday," cried Goofy excitedly.

"Be quiet, Goofy!" hissed Donald.

"Why what a very small world it is then!" cheered the Hatter, dropping a stick of marmalade in his hat before plunging it back on his head. "Now you… ha! Uh... you were saying that you would like to sit… uh...? You were sitting some information… some kind... Hehe!"

"Well," remarked Sora confusedly, "I really didn't say that at all, but I am looking for a-"

"Move down, move down, move down, move down, move _down!_" cried the Hare, and everyone began to play a round of musical chairs as they readjusted to seats further down the table.

"Why did we do that?" asked Donald.

"For the newcomers, silly!" cried the Hatter.

"There are no newcomers!" yelled Sora, growing in frustration with the third useless person of the wood.

"Oh," sighed the Hare. "Now you've gone and scared them away. There was no use yelling. You were saying?"  
"Yes… we're looking for a-"

"Tea?" asked the Hatter, reaching for a teapot with three spouts, and pouring it onto a plate.

Sora shook his head stoically, and watched as the Mad Hatter plunged the dish into his mouth with a spoonful of sugar.

"**We're looking for a Heartless!"** yelled Sora violently.

The Tea Party stopped abruptly.

The dishes vanished into a slew of bubbles, and the dormouse was left sleeping on an empty table. The Hare and Hatter ran into the house, screaming "a very unmerry unbirthday to you," behind them.

Balloons popped all around and streamers re-raveled into winded tissues. A soft humming of the insects in the wood sung around them as the table mat seemed to fade away.

A semi-circle of moonlit white hovered in the air.

"Cheshire Cat," boomed Sora in a thunderous rage. "Show yourself this instant!"

Donald stepped back from Sora nervously. Goofy hesitantly stood his ground.

"Testy, aren't we?" asked the Cat. "But tests are plenty. You've just been tested and passed one from the past. How delightful."

"What are you talking about? If you can't be clear then leave me alone."

"The caterpillar told you to focus on the path, and I think our wonderfully dotty friends would say you did. Or didn't they not say you didn't? All the while, they painted the path to the clue you were climbing for."

"It's in the House?"

"To trust, or not to trust? I trust you'll decide. _Twas brillig, and the slithy toves…_"

Once more, the cat was gone.


	7. Keyhole to the Center of the World

**Chapter 6** Keyhole to the Center of the World

"Where… where are we?" asked Sora, staring around him at the purple wallpaper and tiled floor. Two tables sat in the middle of the room, a distance high from the floor, with glass domes holding tall blue candles unlit in the dim space.

"Can you stand on your head?" asked a familiar voice again.

"Cat!" shouted Donald. "Stop with the riddles!"

"Oh, but you can!" grinned the cat, appearing in the air before them, his purple whiskers drowned in the shadows of the strange room. "Or rather you are! Look up!"

As they did, they were wholly stunned. It was the Rabbit's bizarre room, and they were on the ceiling! The tables with the lamps, Sora realized, were simply the gas lamps of the ceiling hanging upwards, and the trio was still very small.

"I will show you what darkness lies in the heart of the world…" smiled the cat maliciously. "You see, _the closer you get to light… the greater your shadow becomes…_"

"That was you!" screamed Sora.

"Twas not!" contended the cat. "Twas brillig! _And the slithy toves, did gyre and gimble in the wabe_!"

"Shut up!" cried Donald. Goofy stared ahead quietly, nervous. It was he who saw the first lamp ignite.

"Look!" cried Goofy. Half the room illuminated, but by their position to the other lamp, they were cast in darker shadow. The cat looked even more demonic. His pink and purple stripes began to wobble over skin, and the lighter began to fade. His face vanished, his smile still curling through the darkness.

"Fear not," said the cat. "I shall give you the strength you lack. Meet me up there," he said, pointing to the true floor. Goofy reached out to point at the other lamp, its flame spiking up, as the room gained full color. But instead, there was a violent shift in gravity, and the threesome was tossed up to the ceiling, there feet planting firmly on the proper floor of the room.

"We're a little bigger…" noted Sora. "When did…"

"You're the one they call the bearer of the key, aren't you?" asked the Cheshire Cat. "It really would be a sin if you didn't know how to use magic, or how to let magic use you?"

"What?" questioned Sora nervously.

"Now you can, but how?"

The room grew deathly silent, as the lamps up above seemed to be growing brighter. Everyone looked upward, and saw that the flames from the lamps were floating downward, like will-o'-the-wisps.

And landed on the twirling batons of the most enormous monster they had ever seen. He looked like a hundred-tier cake, with red and black layers all the way up. His arms were black paper folded like accordions, and he held two bladed batons, now ignited from the ceiling. Each level of his body had a devilish face grinning madly at the heroes. His legs were iron bars, long and gangly, and spread out like trees.

"Donald!" cried Sora, holding out his Keyblade, the tip glowing a brilliant turquoise light. "What do I…"

"You've gotta focus on what you want it to do!" shouted Donald, pointing his staff at the monster, a bolt of electricity striking one of its legs. The limb spun in a full circle around a ball joint, clanging back on the floor with a resounding clang.

"If you're using the Keyblade, focus your strength into it!" shouted Donald, sending two blasts at the legs so that the being collapsed on its waist.

"Imagine freezing your opponent through and through!" shouted Goofy, who had jumped onto the enemy's endlessly long head, trying to snap it in half.

"USE YOUR HEART!" screamed Donald, as one of the flaming staffs came flying at Sora.

"**_Blizzard_**!" screamed Sora, a wave of cold blue light firing out of the Keyblade like a cannon. Snow and ice shards came rocketing out, catching the flame on the baton and extinguishing it. But the spell had been so strong, that it kept going, raining a bolt of chilled air into the center of the demon. It was pitched back against the far wall, crashing down on the stove.

Donald made a rapid downward gesture with his wand, and Sora watched as a gust of wind forced the enemy's other staff down onto the range. Goofy jumped up as the top plumed out in flame, consuming the enemy in a raging fire. It stood up, dancing about madly in a futile attempt to extinguish itself.

"Feed it!" shouted Donald, pointing his wand at the flames to send another jet of red blaze soaring through the air.

"Uhh…" said Sora, sweating in concentration. "**_Fire!_**" A ring of red blasted out of the Keyblade, causing the enemy to explode in a firework of red beams.

From its center floated up a pink heart, glowing from its own light.

And Sora smiled.

"What was that!" cried a thunderous voice from behind.

Sora turned around to see the queen standing in front of the doorknob, her gargantuan dress blossoming out to all sides, not hiding how obese she truly was.

"That was your evidence," said Sora. Goofy placed a triumphant hand on his shoulder. "Alice is innocent."

"Ooh!" barked the queen. "Article 29: Anyone who defies the queen is guilty! Off with your heads!"

"Oh, don't be silly!" shouted another familiar voice. "No one can have an execution on their unbirthday. How about some tea?"

"I never thought I'd say this," whispered Donald into Sora's ear, "but I think I'm actually glad to have that Mad Hatter back."

"Don't tell anyone," whispered Sora, "But me too."

¤

They quietly followed the tea party into the hedge court, waiting for the card guards to lower Alice down again. They stood back a distance, away from any further insanity. The cage rolled slowly down to the ground, where a red tarp had been placed over the fencing.

The guards tore it off, reaching for the key.

But it was no matter.

Alice was gone.

The Cheshire Cat faded into place in front of Sora, hidden just as well behind the topiaries.

"Where is she?" asked Sora quietly.

"You know," responded the cat, "You were real heroes back there. Simply splendid! Wonderful show! But Alice, she's no knight. Not a bishop or a rook, not a queen or a king. She's the piece left over and she's gone; off with the shadows, into darkness."

"A pawn…" whispered Goofy as the cat faded away.

"No…" Sora said, losing his words to the wind. They walked back through the little door into the rabbit's room. Donald closed the door gently behind them. The doorknob snored behind them.

Goofy turned around to say goodbye, only to see something strange. The doorknob's mouth, naturally, was a keyhole. But in that keyhole was another, smaller, and clearly hidden.

"Look," he said, pointing a finger at it.

Sora turned, resting the Keyblade on his knees as he leaned down to see.

The Keyblade began to tremor. He picked it up, and it lurched sideways, pointing at the keyhole within. There was a flash of blue, and a jet of sterling light that shot into the inner keyhole. A sparkling star beamed in, and the keyhole vanished with a click.

Then there was a much louder, echoing sound, as if it was spread all over the world.

"It sounded like something closed…" Sora said.

"Look!" cried Donald. Out of the larger keyhole flew a block of many colors, large and triangular in shape.

"Humm… This gummi ain't like the others," noticed Goofy. "No sir."

"Gummi?" asked Sora.

"They're the pieces that make up our G_ummi _ship," explained Donald.

"Gotcha."

"Speaking of the ship," said Goofy, "We've really gotta be heading back. Hopefully those Heartless guys are gone, and we can get back on track."

"Where are we headed this time?"

"Well, there's only really one planet within distance of here on the map," said Donald, pulling out a tatter black paper.

"It's labeled 'Olympus.'"


	8. A Bargain in Flame

**Chapter 7** _A Bargain in Flame_

The Gummi ship was as they had left it, resting across the same flowing green meadow. Its door was open, and they entered, filling in Jiminy on their adventure in the bizarre Wonderland underground. Sora collapsed into his seat with Pluto sprawled across his lap, licking happily at Sora's hand.

Donald waddled into place in the pilot's seat and let his head roll lazily back, his eyes closed in a minute's rest, Goofy doing the same beside him. There was a luxurious pleasantry in the ship of calm and cool tranquility, where they could finally find a moment's reprieve from the mad, mad planet they were leaving.

It was refreshing to hear the boosters crash into gear, a flame bursting rapidly through the thrusters, propelling the ship upward, once more sucking the passengers into their seats. As the world shrunk beneath them, a shocking thing happened. There was a loud clattering on the glass window, as the Cheshire Cat placed his claws daintily on the thundering fast ship. He looked in at them, his wide grin perpetually at work.

As if he were in the ship with them, he began to talk, and oddly enough, they could hear him clearly.

"You may be saying goodbye to Wonderland, but does it say goodbye to you? I think not…" And with that enigma, he faded away, the planet bursting through a mass of clouds, and out into the stratosphere, and then space.

Blackness engulfed them as the cat's words lodged strangely in everyone's brain. But Sora's was already cluttered with thoughts of Riku. Of Kairi.

And now, of Alice.

"Where could she have gone?" asked Sora, looking around the cockpit, confused as ever. "What could have happened to her?"

"Maybe she got out," Goofy proposed, knowing precisely who Sora meant.

"She was thirty feet in the air, at least!" argued Donald.

"Maybe she was kidnapped…" said Sora. Everyone was silent, for they had nothing to say. The ship's heating failed for a few minutes, ice white breath distilling in the air.

¤

_There was darkness… everywhere… darkness…_

_Riku opened his eyes._

_There was a line of blue in the distance, moving, like tinted steam. It was like a waterfall trickling very slowly over a bumpy black glass._

_Riku looked further, and he could distinguish a floating shape, like a… a large rock._

_He stood up, slowly, for it was painful. One knee, the other, and finally with a shake of his hair, he lifted his head._

_"Where am I?"_

_To his right, to his left, forward and back, the blue haze swam up into the sky, beyond any point he could see. Everywhere were floating black boulders, jagged at the bottom and smooth at the top. He was on one right now. He moved slightly, trying to stay balanced, but soon realized that the rock wouldn't tip. _

_He looked out. There was just rocks and water, everywhere, and it was very dark. The dark of evening and of underwater. He felt submerged. _

_Submerged in loss._

"_Sora!" he screamed. His voice echoed between the stones, and slowly faded. He waited, but no one replied._

"_Kairi!"_

_Again, no one._

_He sank to his knees in defeat, as a wild wind howled through the chasm. Beads of water sprayed his face, and his eyes closed in loneliness._

_They closed just in time to miss a ball of green fire explode in the distance, and a black robed witch emerge from the flames._

¤

They landed on Olympus outside of an enormous coliseum, defined by enormous white-washed walls, and the towering figures of two gladiators pointed inward at each other inside of the stone. Two grand wooden doorways opened to let the trio into the outskirts of the arena.

Golden tile, looking just like sand, spread out across the ground to a tall stone building, lined with pillars at the feet of the giant gladiators. Opposite of this building were two enormous ivory tablets, painted with the tournament brackets for upcoming events.

They passed these and entered the building, into a tiny lobby, with trophies on both sides and a gateway into the arena. A stone pedestal lay immobile on the right, and on the left was a little goat.

Goat _man_.

It was tiny and squat, with brown hair from the waist down to two black hooves. Its obese gut to its head was human, but then two black horns sprouted out from its nearly bald scalp. A pudgy red nose squished up above a red goatee.

"Umm… Excuse-" began Sora.

"Good timing," said the goat man without even turning around. "Give me a hand, will ya? Ditch that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games."

Sora moved over to the pedestal and began to pull, only to find that it was incredibly heavy. The others joined in, pulling and tugging, pushing and heaving, but it was useless. The enormous block simply sat there unforgiving.

"Its way too heavy!" complained Sora.

"What? Too heavy?" whined the little goat, turning to bark at them. "Since when have you been such a little… Oh. Wrong guy. What're _you _doing here? This here's the world-famous Coliseum. Heroes only! And I got my _hands_ full preparing for the games. So run along, pip-squeaks." The trio didn't move. "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum."

"Yeah, well you've got heroes standing right in front of you!" Donald argued.

"Yup," grinned Goofy, pointing at Sora, "He's a real hero, chosen by the Keyblade!"

"Yeah?" asked the goat man. "That runt?" He laughed uncontrollably, his little hooves kicking at the floor.

"What's so funny?" complained Sora, who hadn't been planning on getting involved. "I've fought a bunch of monsters!"

"Hey, if you can't even move this," said the man, moving over to the pedestal, and pressing his palms against it. "You can't call yourself…" He tried again, planting his back on it and kicking off. "A hero!"

Sora stared at him.

"Okay," relented the small man. "So it takes more than brawn. But heroes? Afraid not."

"Why not?" Sora asked in frustration.

"Two words: You guys ain't the right material."

"Oh, come on!" argued Sora. But the goat man turned away without another word, returning to his clean-up job as if the entire discussion hadn't occurred.

Sora kicked a rag across the floor and stormed back outside, already ready to set off for another planet. Fresh warmth came with the wind and the torches outside flickered in the breeze. It was the smell of summer.

But then a cool frost settled, and the area grew dark. The torches puffed out, and the sky was draped in shadow. A blue flame appeared in the distance. Sora turned to look at it, and realized it was on the head of a very tall man. He had blue skin, and a golden fire in his eyes. His chin was long, housing a mouth filled with razor sharp, stained teeth in a devilish grin. His inky black cloak swirled into shadow and was pinned up by a tiny animal skull on his right shoulder. He reached out a gangly blue finger towards the building.

"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?"

"Who are you?" asked Donald.

"Whoa. Hold on there, fuzz boy. Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?" He moved forward, towering over Sora as he placed a cold hand on his shoulder. "Well then, hey. Get a load of this."

A blue card appeared in his hand in a flash of blue fire.

"A pass?" asked Sora, reading the top.

"It's all yours," said the man. "Good luck, kid. I'm pulling for ya, little shorty." The man backed up, and disappeared in a flash of flame. The darkness vanished, and the soft warm air comforted them.

Sora looked at the card:

A Hero's Pass.

He was in.

¤

"Hey," questioned the goat man, Phil, uneasily. "How'd you get this?"

"Can we enter the games now?" asked Sora innocently.

"Well… I guess so. We start with the preliminaries. Why don't you take a rest in here until tomorrow, when we begin?"

"Sure thing," smiled Sora, following Phil into an inner chamber with a few cots and lockers. Phil went back to work as the three collapsed onto separate beds.

Donald stared at the ceiling. He thought of Daisy, and of the Queen, alone at home with no sign of how things were unfolding. Come to think of it, Donald wasn't really sure how things were unfolding either.

Goofy turned on his side, his gaze lost in an empty picture frame hanging on the wall. He thought of the king, and what had happened to him. He wondered if they'd ever be able to find him, or if he was in trouble. How long had it been since they'd left? How could he judge?

Sora, once again, lost his mind in thoughts of Riku and Kairi: where they had ended up, and if they'd survived. Were they flying around space trying to accomplish some obscure goal? If they didn't have Keyblades, how were they faring against the Heartless?

And then what about Alice? Where had she been taken? What did the Cheshire Cat mean when he called her a pawn? A pawn in what? There was a bigger game going on. Not some stupid battling tournament or search for people that couldn't be found. There was a puppeteer out there with a goal far bigger than anything they could as of yet comprehend.

But they had to do what it took to get answers. Answers to the pool of questions swimming around in their skulls. Sora rolled over, staring at the wall, and at one of the empty lockers. Down at the bottom was a pack of scattered paper. He got up and walked over to it, drawing it out of the stone box.

It was on old and tattered parchment. Flakes of paper were dissolving from water or age. He closed it up and looked at the cover.

"G… guys…" Sora stuttered, engulfed in awe at what he was seeing. "C… come here. N… now."

¤

The blue man was back in his own lair, strolling back and forth over black stone surrounded by a circle of black pillars. There were peculiar etchings and carvings all around, and statues of death and skulls chained to the ceiling. A large circular window looked across the Underworld, and a vat of swirling green miasma was centered in the floor.

Hades, God of the Underworld, was staring at a hologram-like spell in his hand of Hercules, son of Hades' brother, Zeus, God of the Heavens. Hercules had fallen to Earth, and under Hades' curse, been transformed to almost completely mortal. But there had been an interruption, so Hades had been unable to kill him. He punched a blue hand through the image, and the turquoise fire on his head plumed upward, tapping into the air in rage.

"He's strong. He's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect. **PERFECTLY INFURIATING!**" His skin flamed red and his fiery hair ignited outwards once again, tinting the room in a momentary layer of crimson.

"He makes me crazy! Wait a minute," he calmed, "What are you talking about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what you do. Let Phil train the kid. In the games, I'll take care of them _both_."

There was a blast of green flames in the door to room, accompanied by a swooping raven. The green-skinned witch appeared at the entrance, her bird landing on her shoulder as her one-ringed hand switched her staff across her body, green fire swimming in the bauble atop it.

"Who invited you to the party?" Hades seethed. "Stay out of this. This is my show."

"As you wish," smiled the witch, vanishing with her words. "Fight to your _heart_'s content."

¤

"Ansem…" asked Goofy, taken aback. "But isn't that…"

"Ansem's Report, Volume 1," read Sora. "That's the one."

"Read it!" Donald cried anxiously.

Sora held up the parchment:

Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that. I am blessed with people's smiles and respect.

But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand. I believe darkness sleeps within every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times.

Darkness…

Darkness of the heart.

How is it born? How does it come to affect us so? As ruler of this world, I must find the answers.

I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness.

"That's it?" moaned Donald.

"But that doesn't tell us anything…" Goofy said.

"Yes, it does," said Sora after a pause. "Look. We know these were written long ago, by Ansem. You said the king went to find them. Yuffie said that they were research on the Heartless. This shows where the Heartless come from. The darkness in one's heart. And it says that the world is to be taken by the darkness… which is how we know they're destroyed."

"That doesn't help," said Donald testily.

"At least it's interesting," said Goofy.

"But this is only the first volume," said Sora, walking out of the locker room. "The rest are sure to make things clearer."

"That's true," Goofy nodded.

"Where are you going?" asked Donald.

"I'm gonna go put this in the ship. I'll be right back. Get some rest."

¤

"Up and at 'em!" bellowed Phil, waking up the group from a pleasant slumber. "There are some real weirdoes who signed up for the games. Better watch yourself."

The arena had a fair group of spectators, gathered around the stands, looking down on the central square platform. Sora, Donald, and Goofy clambered up on the stones. Sora pulled the Keyblade from his belt, Donald summoned his staff, and Goofy took off his shield, braced for the first fight.

There was the clang of a bell, and four soldier Heartless sprouted out of the ground, their helmets teetering on their heads.

_Heartless! _Sora thought in surprise. _What are they doing here?_

He charged, driving his Keyblade through one of them, watching it explode in smoke. Donald's staff ignited in a blaze of red, soaring over the stage to blow another Heartless into the air and away in clouds of black. There was a chiming sound behind them, as four little blue Heartless, that looked remarkably like sugar pots, appeared in the air, their yellow lids rattling atop their heads, and the heart-like insignia, seen on the Heartless spacecraft, was emblazoned on each of their chests. Their lids were pointed yellow wizard hats which glowed with the same burning ferocity as the eyes in the shadow beneath the hat.

Donald pointed his staff at one, bellowed "blizzard!" and watched a gust of frost shoot from his wand. The Heartless' lid shot off, collected the freeze inside, and then closed, making the monster grow.

Goofy knocked another monster aside as Sora began to swing at the little blue ones, only to watch them dance through the air, out of reach. "Of course," he suddenly said, aiming the Keyblade. "**_Fire!_**" A swirl of red tongues encircled the blue creature, and then imploded, collapsing the being in on its self.

Donald nodded; changing spells so that the little blue floaters, which seemed to feed on frost, vanished in bursts of fire. Goofy did a raging charge and broke the other two armored Heartless upon each other.

Sora caught his breath as a bell clanged in the distance.

"Come here!" Phil shouted, as they caught their breath. He tossed them each mug of water. "You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching."

"Sorry," said Sora, rubbing sweat from a mat of hair in the front of his head. "I missed the part when we did that."

Phil blew over the aside and began to warn them of how to handle their next opponents, a team of bug-like Heartless and more of the blue teapots, which he called Blue Rhapsodies, because they made an amusing sound when they appeared.

Just then, a tall guy, not much older than Sora, and probably right around Leon's age, brushed by. Sora turned to look at him. He had wild blonde hair, and a red, battered cape swept around his neck. A black shoulder plate covered his left shoulder, and black straps attached a gauntlet to his left hand, with gold claws that slipped over his fingers. Belts wound around his blue shirt and pants, holding a long armor cover over his right hip. A black wing sprouted out behind his right shoulder blade, where an enormous sword, easily his height, and as wide as him, was nested on his shoulder. Tough muscles gripped the sword in a brown leather glove, of the same cloth as his shoes. He was formidable, to say the absolute least.

"Something," said Phil sarcastically but not comically, "tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows? Maybe you'll end up facing him."

They swept off, back into the foray of the following rounds, quickly vanquishing their Heartless challengers again and again. Phil called them over to breathe again.

They did a lot of it while they had the chance.

¤

"That little punk is your next opponent, okay?" Hades said to the blonde-haired teen, Cloud, in a recessed corner of the arena. "Now, don't blow it. Just take him out."

"The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a kid? Sorry, but my contract says-"

"I know!" said Hades, fuming fire from every pore. "You think I don't know? I _wrote_ the contract! I know it only says you're required to kill Hercules in the tournament. But you've gotta fight the kid to get to him. Come on. Hey, it's like that old goat says, 'Rule 11: It's all just a game.' So just let loose and have fun with it! I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?"

Cloud walked by in silence, and Hades fought hard not to incinerate him on the spot. "Geez," he complained to himself. "Stiffer than the stiffs back home. Still… suckers like him are hard to come by…"


	9. Showdown of Fate

**Chapter 8** _Showdown of Fate_

"Suck it up, kid. This here's the last match."

"Who's it against?" Sora asked, a steady stream of water guzzling down his throat from the mug in his hand.

"Some wuss named Cloud," responded Phil. " Who in the Underworld names their kid-"

With a methodic power, Cloud ascended to the competitor's platform, his long, bandaged sword glinting in the fiery sunlight. Gold sand swept up, swirling against the far wall of the coliseum.

"Rule number ninety-four:" snickered Phil. "If the going ever got tough… then that guy there's the going."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Phil," Sora said, sulking forward, flanked unreassuringly by Donald and Goofy. He stood hesitantly on the platform, gripping the Keyblade with sweaty palms. Cloud looked at him sourly.

"You're putting a lot at risk, fighting me, kid."

"No kidding," retorted Sora.

"Why do it? Why waste your time?"

"What?" Sora asked, taken aback by this pre-war conversation.

"What on earth are you fighting in this tournament for?"

"I…"

"You're trying to _prove _something, aren't you? Well that's cute. But this is grown-up time now, squirt, so don't make me hurt you."

"Why are _you_ in this?" Sora asked angrily.

"Time to play," sneered Cloud to the sound of the bell, his dry voice shying away from his lack of an answer. There was a flash of black, and Cloud's blade was already descending on Sora. The Keyblade shot up of its own accord and parried the downswing as Sora leapt aside, his eyes bulging in surprise.

Donald raised his staff, calling for a bolt of lighting from the heavens, barely aware that the combat had scarcely begun. A little flutter of the black wing on Cloud's back signaled his jump, and he rapidly shot backwards as the electric bolt crashed down where he had last stood.

"**_Fire!_**" Sora cried, watching a twirling mass of flame issue from his weapon, its red tongues lashing out to ensnare Cloud. The warrior slashed at the magic, watching as the heat dissipated into nothingness, sparsely seeming to exist.

Goofy suddenly charged in, his shield crashing down on Cloud's back, much to everyone's surprise. Donald and Sora ran over, placing both their staff and key at Cloud's head, as he looked pitifully upward.

"Give up, now," Sora warned.

"Not on your life," Cloud snickered, leaping powerfully back, knocking all three aside. Sora pointed his Keyblade up, a heavy spiral of wind aimed at Cloud, but to no avail. The soldier landed lightly downward, his gaze searing across the platform.

"That the best you can do?" he asked, floating in the sky, as a massive swirl of darkness rose like a weed to circle around him. The black shadow encompassed his sword, and he pointed it at Sora, lunging forward like a hawk on the hunt, his blonde hair waving through the air in his wake.

"Farewell!" he cried, a mass of shadow exploding like a bomb and erupting along the stone ground, shooting rocks and rubble aside. Sora leaned back, bared for the worst, when a swirl of yellow-tinted wind burst from the Keyblade and encircled his body, glowing with an amazing brilliance that shattered through the dark assault.

Keyblade outstretched, Sora pointed his weapon at Cloud's frozen, stunned figure.

"Gimme your best shot," laughed Cloud, suddenly slashing with his massive blade.

Goofy rammed hard into him, pitching him into a bolt of electricity that leapt from Donald's staff. Cloud seized in the air, and then collapsed, a line of smoke billowing from his cloak. He looked up at Sora, a strange light in his eyes, as he raised a hand to his shocked, bleeding arm.

Behind them, a crash like an earthquake rattled the stadium.

It was a paw. The paw of a three-headed dog taller than the coliseum itself, whose white fangs glinted under burning red eyes. In the distance, Hades stood, arms-crossed, black robes swirling into nothingness.

"Oh right. There was one other rule I forgot," he said, staring at Cloud, "accidents happen." Cloud trembled as the massive animal came charging at him.

"That's right," barked Phil, suddenly jumping up on his bench, sticking a pudgy finger in Hades' direction.

With this sudden annunciation came the arrival of someone who had to be the legendary Hercules, who leapt onto the field, and in one fast swoop, stopped one of the enormous dog's paws from stomping on the fallen Cloud.

"Phil!" he cried, "get them out of here!"

Phil nodded, and with Sora carrying Cloud, everyone went flying across the stadium, his feet pattering along the stone in fear. Hades fumed in anger, his blue skin igniting with a red pigment, the flame on his head turning crimson.

"We can't just leave him there!" Sora bellowed.

"Hercules has got the strength of a hundred men!" Phil barked. "He's the _only_ guy I'd leave in there!"

Sora froze in the doorway, Cloud still weighing down his arms. He lay down the listless figure and stood upright, his head staring back into the arena.

"Look kid," stammered Phil. "that was a close one. That pup was Cerberus! Guardian of the Underworld! Herc should be able to handle to him!"

"But then again, maybe not!" argued Sora.

"This ain't just some match!" bellowed Phil. "This is for real!"

"I'm not afraid," Sora assured. "Look, you can decide now if I'm hero material or not."

"Kid…"  
Sora looked at him, sick of arguing with his objections.

"Be… be careful," said Phil unexpectedly. "What you're doing now… this is what makes a true hero."

"Thanks… Phil…" Sora said, taken aback.

"Come on!" barked the satyr, his stubby goat legs moving in a flurry beneath him, Goofy and Donald taking up the rear.

¤

Hercules was lying against a wall, blood flowing profusely from his nose and lip, both eyes bloodied. It was clear Cerberus was fairing equally poorly, but the dog was still on its feet, raring to tear at Hercules' weak body.

"I got two words of advice for you, kid!" shouted Phil, drawing the dog's three heads to attention. "ATTACK!"

Sora charged, the Keyblade thrusting air out, tossing him into the air like a bird, his legs floating beneath him as he rose, eye-level with the giant dog. The three heads flailed about, chomping at the air, dying to taste human in their enormous teeth.

With a loud bark, the middle head snapped at Sora, who threw a wave of flame in the dog's faces, to the sound of an enormous howling.

"That's enough!" came an uncomfortably familiar voice. The sky darkened, and shadow fell over the stadium, the air turning cold and bitter. Sora shivered, softly descending with the Keyblade's magic.

Hades faded into position atop Cerberus' back, blue fire swirling atop his head. "Hey, it's starting to get warmed up here. Everyone feeling cozy? Homey? Warm and fuzzy? No. Well good!"

A spiral of black fire flew from his hands, chaining around each of Cerberus' necks before descending like a fish into the ground, burrowing into pools of inky sorcery. Sora ran back in alarm as the magic pools chased him around the stadium, the dog following suit.

"Lay off!" wheezed Donald, a line of cold frost blaring from his staff at Hades. The God of the Underworld raised his long gangly fingers to a suddenly bald head, feeling for where the flame should have been.

"What? Did my hair go out?" he stammered, looking angrily at Donald. "Oh, I see. So you're the new barber, huh? Well, get a load of this!" From his hands, a ball of black and blue fire shot out, descending fast…

…only to be dissipated by Goofy's well-placed shield.

"That's all ya got? A-hyuck!" called Goofy, a well-tempered face staring up at Hades.

"Why you dog-eared little runt! I'm gonna-"

But before he could "gonna" anything, there was a crash of wooden doors as Cloud appeared in the arena doorway, clutching his side.

"And I actually thought I'd gotten rid of you," sighed Hades.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sora.

"I'm looking for someone," Cloud said. "Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired."

He stood up, his clawed gauntlet slipping from his grasp as he released his ribs.

"I fell into darkness, and couldn't find the light."

"You'll find it," consoled Sora. "I'm searching, too."

"For your light?" asked Cloud in surprise. "Don't lose sight of it."

Hades bore a nasty grin.

"Aww… teen rebels. How I love to waste my time. But as I remind you, tough guy, you've just broken your contract. You know you can't reveal the terms. And you know what that'll cost you."

"No… you… don't!" yelled Hercules, leaping up with ungodly force, and tackling Hades clear past the back of the enormous dog.

"This isn't over!" yelled Hades. "You hear me? This isn't the end!" And in a blast of white flame, he, his dog, and the darkness vanished, daylight revealing a stadium that looked as if no battles had been fought on it.

Sora turned to Cloud, who sullenly looked into the distance, as if someone were standing there…

As if he could see his light.

"Hey," said Sora, burying his hands in his pockets, the Keyblade tucked in his belt. "How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square. No dark powers involved."

"Thanks, kid…. _Sora_. But I think I'll pass. I've got something important to do."

"You'll find her," Sora said, an incredible connection to Cloud's pain forming in his mind.

"And so will you…" said Cloud. "What's her name?"

"Kairi," said Sora. "You?"

"I'll see ya around," he smiled, and sword back across his shoulder, he walked out of the stadium, disappearing into the halls of Olympus.

¤

"Thus, I dub thee: junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further-"

"Wait a minute, mister Hercules!" squawked Donald. "What do you mean junior heroes?"

"You don't yet realize what it means to be a true hero. You're gonna have to find out for yourself, just like I did."

"Hold on a minute-" started Donald.

"Forget it," said Sora quietly aside. "Titles don't matter. What people _do_ matters, and here, we're not doing _anything_. We've got people counting on us to find them, and we're here playing swordfight."

Donald dipped his head. "You're right," he quacked.

Goofy turned to Hercules: "Listen, I don't wanna be rude or anything, but we've gotta find someone very important."

"I understand," said Hercules. "That's the road to being a hero. Never give up."

"Thanks," said Sora, shaking hands with Hercules, feeling the strength of his grip to be like a boulder closing around his fingers. "We'll be back one day. I can feel it."

"And we'll be waiting," said Phil, shaking hands as well. "That old fireball still ain't gone, and I'm counting on you to help do some extinguishing."

"Rule number one," said Sora, smiling, "All for one, and one for all."

¤

_Night was everywhere. It was in the dust, and swallowing the walls, and engulfing the red fire of the Gummi Ship's boosters as it flew off into the stars. Cold winds danced through the coliseum, torchlight glowing along the stone façade._

_Cloud walked determinedly into the Coliseum arena, sword drawn. His black boots crunched the dirt into rock beneath his soles. He ascended the few steps to the center platform, and looked into the sky._

"_So we meet at last," he said angrily._

_In the air, a black feather appeared and fell gently to the ground. As it struck, a black boot smashed it under its leather. A tall man in shining black robes with flowing silver hair was standing on the platform, his eyes glowing with a furious fire. On his right shoulder blade was a large, black and blue wing, which matched the shadowy, tattered shape of his cloak. He gripped a thin sword, enormously long, in his large, black-gloved fingers._

_His mouth moved thinly._

"_I was searching for you, too."_

"_As long as you exist," Cloud remarked through bared teeth, "I can't wake from this nightmare. You are my darkness."_

"_If that is so," smiled Sephiroth, the tall, threatening man, "then I shall draw you further into that darkness. Into the nightmare. Into an eternal deprivation of light from which you shall never awaken!"_

_Cloud whipped his sword forward, his body pulsing with red electricity, Sephiroth's figure encompassed by a daunting blue force. The force of the magic that brought them together ripped stones from the earth, casting them into the air and outward like a cyclone._

_Cloud charged forward, his sword thundering down on Sephiroth's long blade. A blast of navy light became a yellow force and then reverted back, pulsing a deep midnight across the stadium. The light was just a flash and vanished, as they traded more swings and parries, blows and dodges, neither claiming a clear shot._

_They separated simultaneously, and then Cloud dove in, his sword slicing across the air, smashing dangerously into Sephiroth's rapier, throwing Sephiroth back across the platform. But as Cloud lunged again, his foe vanished in a puff of feathers, and reappeared high above the coliseum, his sword extended, and his hand gesturing for Cloud to fight him._

_Cloud took the offer and leapt into the air, his sword spiraling in a dazzling array of swings and blows, red and white fire dancing from the sparks that were created in the clashes._

_There they fought, ying and yang, a split soul, as white light claimed their eternal battle, and they vanished._

_A lone torch flickered in the breeze, and Hades growled. The contract had claimed its consequence, but Cloud had not died at Hades' feet as he had hoped._

_One day._

_One day he would right it all._

_And he would make them _all_ perish._

_One day._


	10. Hazy Memories

**My Good Readers:** I have a hopefully easy request. If anyone could go back in the game and figure out the exact wording of the quote for when you answer the questions in the Dream at the VERY beginning, and get the slow-level up, "your path begins at nightfall" road. What is the rest of the "Your path begins at nightfall" quote? Please just pop that in a review, and I will give you super kudos at the beginning of the chapter afterwards. Thanks for the help! Read and enjoy.

**Chapter 9 **_Hazy Memories_

"Look down there!" shouted Sora, as he stared through the glass encasement of the ship. "Something's glowing!"

Everyone in the ship whipped around, staring down at the Coliseum, which was getting smaller and smaller as the ship ascended. There was a collision of glowing "somethings," red and blue, whirling around the arena. One was diving about, the other flying through the air, until a flash of white light illuminated the architecture and both of the small dots vanished, the planet shrinking from view.

"That was Cloud," said Sora, his voice stiff with certainty. "He's gone."

Donald stared at him, about to question Sora's knowledge, but then thought otherwise and turned to the control panel.

The ride was quiet for a while, stars drifting slowly past, still space engulfing every inch of every place around their craft.

Sora leaned forward, looking over to Jiminy, who was sleeping beside a quill much larger than his tiny body, and beside that was both Ansem's Report and a journal. Sora lifted up the notebook and paged through.

It was incredible. There were lifelike sketches of all the Heartless they had told the little cricket about, and in-depth descriptions of their travels. There was diagrams of the Keyblade and transcriptions of the tournament brackets at the coliseum. Sora was mesmerized until Goofy jumped in the front of the ship.

"Look!" he shouted. "That planet's not on the map!" Down below, a world surrounded in dense green jungle poked through the blackness everywhere else.

"If it's not on the map, then the king wasn't there!" complained Donald.

"Hold on," argued Sora, moving to the controls, "my friends could be down there! Let's just check it out!"

"Forget it!" retorted Donald. "We're on an important mission!"

"Just land!" shouted Sora, seizing the controls from Donald's hands.

"No!" bellowed Donald.

"Come on!" screamed Sora. He snatched at the wheel and the ship lurched, throwing him back, as he was no longer buckled in. He felt his body slam against the metal of the door, and then slam forward against a steel dividing wall as the Gummi ship nose-dived toward the jungle.

"Look what you've done!" cried Donald, trying to desperately right the balance of the ship.

"Drop frontal weight!" ordered Goofy, leaning forward to hit a release.

"No!" shouted Donald in alarm. "I'm tipping some equipment to weigh down the back!" But it was too late, Goofy ejected a few supplies from the front of the cargo, Donald lurched the plane back, and weight went haywire, twisting the plane into a deeper dive.

"Emergency open all the doors! Ditch whatever cargo's left!" cried Donald.

"NO!" screamed Sora in terror, feeling his waist leaning on the latch of the iron entry door behind him. He tried to lean forward, but it was too late, for Goofy pressed the release, and Sora went flying out into the air, boxes and sacks flowing out beneath him.

"SORA!" he heard from somewhere inside the plane, but his mind was already racing. He was at least a thousand feet over the ground, and descending rapidly. He surveyed the air below him. There were a few crates, sacks of food, and a large tarp.

A tarp!

He maneuvered his arms and legs in to cannonball down and decrease any air resistance. His fingers lowered slowly. He snatched out and missed.

He was halfway past his falling point, and saw an enormous tree-house rising up below him. A crate snagged the edge of the tarp and it slammed faster down.

Sora cried out in fear.

A barrel shattered on top of the crate, releasing the tarp, and tearing the last ropes binding it together. It flapped outwards and slowed tremendously. Sora seized it, and let it swing above him.

A sharp pain hit his arms as the cloth became a parachute, but it was no matter.

He was alive.

He slowly took the last hundred feet and landed on the reed roof, which was apparently too weak to hold him.

He collapsed through, the parachute stuck outside, and he fell, screaming, to the log floor below.

Unconscious.

¤

"Oh… my head…."

Sora stood, looking around. He couldn't remember much, but he could recall vague snapshots of the Gummi Ship lurching from side to side, and then a fall. Sunlight streamed through a hole in the roof above him. The windows around him typically had no glass, and when they did, it lay in shards below the sill.

Vine and wood ladders climbed the three floors to the top of the tree house. Boxes and barrels lay shattered along the floor, and a few older containers were covered and hidden along some walls under the wood lofts of the higher floors.

Sora stood up, feeling serious pains in his shoulder joints and on his knees, which were scraped badly, blood staining the floor under him.

His hands and forearms were bruised or cut, a few splinters marking a hard fall. He wondered how he could have survived a drop from the roof to the floor, and then looked to his waist.

To the Keyblade.

That thing had become a real life-saver.

Sora looked around, and then called out into the still morning: "Donald? Goofy?"

There was a rustle on the tree house's top floor. Sora brushed himself off, and winced as he struck yet another bruise he didn't know he had.

"Guys!" he called to the sound. "I'm down here!"

There was a crash of breaking wood, and then heavy fast footfalls.

"I'm alright!" he shouted. "Don't run so fast!"

The pattering grew quicker, and Sora realized it was neither Donald nor Goofy.

A flash of yellow crossed the floor just above.

Then there was a loud roar as the flash pounced at Sora, white paws out stretched, feline jaw gnashing out.

It was a leopard.

Sora fell in fear, and then tried to roll aside, but saw how well the monster had caught him. Sora had pinned the Keyblade with his fall, and could do nothing but hold his hands over his eyes in terror.

But he never felt a thing.

He opened his eyes, and saw that a man, practically nude, save a loin cloth around his waist, had assaulted the leopard, and he bore a long spear. Sora's savior was massively strong, wrestling the animal across the floor, his wild brown dreadlocks getting in his face as he slammed at the creature with his muscular arms, until the animal slipped out of the tumble and ran for its life, clearing ground with terrific speed.

"Sabor…" said the man, heaving and pointing at the fleeing animal. "Danger…" he warned.

"Um…" started Sora, surprised. "Thank you."

"Thank you," repeated the man.

"Huh?" asked Sora, raising an eyebrow. "Um… err… what is this place?"

"This place, this place," repeated the man, who was now squatting with his arms dangling in front of him like a gorilla.

"Okaaay…" sighed Sora. "Where did the others go? Look. I got separated from my friends. Have you seen them?"

"Hmm?" asked the man, tilting his head like a bird.

"Friends…" said Sora slowly.

"Friends?" asked the man.

"Right!" smiled Sora. "My friends! There's two of 'em. The loud one is Don-"

"Hmm?" questioned the man, cocking his head in the other direction.

"You know what?" said Sora, recalling snippets of his battle with Donald. "Never mind. I'm looking for my friends, Riku and Kairi."

"Look for Riku? Friends?" asked the man once more.

"Right!" laughed Sora.

"Kairi friend?" asked the man, and as he said this, Sora saw a flicker of movement further past where he stood. He turned to look, but saw nothing. Nevertheless, he was sure he had seen her.

Kairi.

"Yeah!" shouted Sora, remembering what the man had said.

"Friends here," nodded the man.

"Really?" stammered Sora in surprise.

Then the man made strange, deep grunting noises, as if it were trying to speak monkey, or something similar. It sounded like "_hua, hua_," and then he finished by saying, "friends here."

"Not sure I understand," said Sora, "but show me! Take me to Riku and Kairi!"

"Tarzan. Tarzan go," said the man, presumably named Tarzan.

"And I'm Sora," smiled the Keybearer. "Tarzan go, Sora uhh… go go!"

¤

"Gawrsh, where are we?" asked Goofy, disembarking from the Gummi Ship. "I sure hope Sora's okay."

"Aww… who needs him?" growled Donald. "We can find the king without him." A quick brown blur shifted in the foliage. Donald looked around, seeing a wide rotting tree trunk, and the green light that the canopy reflected into the glen. But the blur had vanished.

"Hmm…" questioned Donald. He walked forward, and a large, hairy brown creature burst through the bushes. Donald screamed in alarm, and so did the animal, which turned out to be a large gorilla, running in fear of… something.

Or someone.

Behind it, a wide blue cube fell to the ground, and Goofy immediately stashed it, beaming with surprise as to what he had found.

As the gorilla ran across the glen and back into the jungle, there was another sound ahead, as a long silver glow appeared behind the overgrowth.

Out stepped a man, dressed in bright yellow hunting gear, with a long gun pointed forward.

Directly at Donald.

¤

Tarzan led Sora down a wide tree branch, nearly ten or so feet thick, to an even wider one below. The latter was covered with a thick, moist moss, vivid and springy. Tarzan made a wide, airplane-like gesture with his arms and said, "Surf."

He pointed to the mossy branch, and then leapt on, his feet gripping tightly and letting him slide. He shot off like a bullet, keeping his balance as he slid from branch to branch, his bounds like a gorilla.

Sora climbed on, and hesitantly took his balance, his arms outstretched. He unsheathed the Keyblade and pointed it at the tree, hoping it would help.

He was right, but in a manner of speaking.

The weapon whipped him backwards, and then released a sphere of air, thrusting him quickly backwards so that he went flying down the tree. It whipped side to side, blasting out more air, tossing him properly from one tree to another as he screamed as if he was on some enormous jungle roller coaster.

Finally, mercifully, he felt his shoes clap the ground. He fell to his knees, clinging tightly to the grass in gratitude and then shoved the Keyblade hard into his belt.

"Jane!" bellowed Tarzan.

In the distance, a young woman twirled around, her yellow skirt twirling under her white blouse, the sunlight catching her brown hair.

She was beautiful, with an upturned nose, and glistening brown eyes. She was tall and skinny, and her smile radiated as she saw Tarzan.

"Tarzan!" she shouted back in a soothing English accent. "Oh, and who is this?"

"Uh, hi there," said Sora. "I'm-"

"Oh, you speak English!" she cried gleefully. "So, then, obviously you're not related to Tarzan."

_Well, duh, _thought Sora. _Look at me, and then look at him._

"Are you here to study the gorillas?" asked Jane.

Somebody else answered for him:

"Highly doubtful."

The yellow clad hunter stepped into the clearing, his moustache stretched over a malicious frown, and his gun strapped behind his back. Donald and Goofy followed hesitantly behind.

"Sora!" Goofy suddenly called out, shocked and relieved to see his friend.

"Goofy!" cried Sora ecstatically. "Donald!"

Donald reached for Sora's hand, and before they both met palms, they decided otherwise, and turned around, arms crossed, lips pursed.

Goofy shook his head.

"A circus of clowns," sneered Clayton. "Not much use for hunting gorillas."

"Mr. Clayton," said Jane, her arms crossed furiously, "I don't want to have to tell you again. We're studying them, _not_ hunting them. This is research."

Clayton turned and left, with no form of reply.

Jane gestured for everyone to follow, and brought them to an area where the clearing widened out into a large campsite. There were roughly five tents, and a few large tables stacked with research equipment. A pile of boxes were heaped against a rock wall, and various household items, like a clock, a pot-belly stove, and even a lone tea set, glimmering in white and purple, were scattered haphazardly around the area.

"The more the merrier," smiled Jane. "Make yourself at home."

Tarzan followed her into the first tent.

"Well, anyway…" started Sora, who ended up saying simultaneously with Donald:

"I'm staying!"

"Huh?" asked Sora, somewhat angrily.

Before the petty bickering went on any longer, Goofy shoved his way in, with the blue cube from before held in his hand.

"Another Gummi block?" asked Sora.

"Just like we use to build our ship," nodded Goofy.

"So that means…" started Sora.

"The king could be here," mused Donald. "So, we've gotta work together to look for him. For now."

"Fine," smirked Sora. "I'll let you tag along. For now."

¤

"Apparently, Tarzan was raised in the jungle by gorillas. Communicating with him still isn't easy, but he's learning."

Jane was sitting in the tent, conversing with Sora, Goofy, and Donald over some fresh, warm tea and biscuits. Being the most food they'd had in a while, it tasted incredible.

"So he was speaking in 'gorilla' back there?" asked Sora.

"That's right," said Jane. "You're looking for your friends, is that right?"

"He said Riku and Kairi were here. And one word I couldn't understand. It sounded something like '_hua_.'"

Jane chuckled at Sora's imitation. "Why don't we try this?" she smiled, reaching for a projector. "We'll show Tarzan some slides and see if any of them match that word."

She flipped on the projector and drew Tarzan's attention.

"What did you say to Sora, Tarzan?" she asked. "In the Treehouse? So…ra," she repeated. "Tree…house."

"_Hua,_" he said, puzzled.

"Okay," she replied, now actually impressed by Sora's imitation. "Um… do any of these match that word, Tarzan?"

Tarzan looked at the first slide, of a bicyclist on an old Victorian bicycle. He shook his head. A gorilla appeared next, but Tarzan already knew how to say gorilla. A couple walking down the street appeared, and then something unbefitting of the other images.

It was a castle, with what looked like floating glaciers all around it. It was an enormous building with towers and turrets climbing one atop another in every fathomable place, outward and upward and forever on. Large pipes clambered between the turrets, connecting an infinite array of walls and rooms.

Sora was speechless, not in amazement, but with something else that pulled at him. Something like a memory. Familiarity.

"What's wrong, Sora?" asked Jane.

"What? Um… Nothing."

But it wasn't nothing, obviously.

_This place,_ he thought, _it just looks so familiar. But how? I've never been off my island…_

"There's a journal that goes with the picture," Jane said. "I'm afraid it's only the second part, I don't know where the rest of the collection is."

Sora's ears perked up.

"Would you like to see it?" she asked.

"Please!" shouted Sora and his friends in loud unison.

"Oh," smiled Jane in surprise. "Here we are."

She reached into a box and pulled out a very familiar looking set of tattered parchment.

"Why don't you take it outside where the light is better? I'll finish going through the slides with Tarzan."

Sora and his group ran outside, sitting hurriedly on the ground as Sora opened the cover of Ansem's Report, volume 2:

It is my duty to expose what the darkness really is.

I shall conduct the following experiments:

Extract the darkness from a person's heart.

Cultivate darkness in a pure heart.

Both suppress and amplify darkness within.

The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery.

I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle. Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight.

Creatures that seemed born of darkness… What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?

"Sora…" moaned Donald. "Tell me you can see what this one tells us."

"Well, look," pointed Sora proudly, re-reading the document as he went.

"First off, this Ansem guy has some duty with revealing the truth of this darkness. Doing this, he's actually created Heartless himself, and if I'm not mistaken, the castle he's referring to is the one in that slide. So wherever that was is where we'll find this guy. Assuming he went back."

"Speaking of back," said Goofy, standing up, "let's go check on Tarzan."

They went inside the tent, as Jane clicked through three more slides, and then sat back unsuccessful.

"Well, Tarzan?" asked Donald. Tarzan shook his head.  
"Where are my friends?" cried Sora, desperately. "Riku and Kairi!"

Tarzan shook his head, and Sora was near tears.

"I thought you-"

"That leaves just one place," said Clayton, entering the tent. His moustache quivered over a devilish smile. "Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. But we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I'd wager they're with the gorillas. But Tarzan refuses to take us to them."

"Really, Mr. Clayton," said Jane, standing up. "Tarzan wouldn't hide-"

"Then take us there!" shouted Clayton to the gorilla man. "Take us to the gorillas! Go…ril…las…"

Tarzan turned to Sora, wanting badly to help him, to prevent the onslaught of tears he could see in his eyes.

He nodded his head solemnly.

"Tarzan… are you sure?" asked Jane.

"Tarzan go see Kerchak," said Tarzan.

"Kerchak?" Jane asked.

"He must be the leader," said Clayton. "Perfect. I'll go along as an escort. After all… the jungle is a dangerous place…"


	11. More Than Meets The Eye

**To My Readers: **My first comment goes out to Hikari. You are my **_HERO_**. I feel guilty for being such a lazy pain, but you were generous enough to give me that quote which I've wanted for ages. I've already edited in my hardcopy version of the story, but soon I plan to re-update all the previous chapters with some corrections I've made along the way. Thank you. Gracias. Merci. Danka.

The second thing I want to bring up is kinda hesitant. Call me crazy, but I do want to try and submit a novelization to Disney. I've done one (completed) of a movie they bought from a foreign film maker (I'll leave it at that for now) but that's an "undercover operation" if you will. That actually has the potential for doing well. I'm really very proud of it. If that has any sort of success—and believe me, I've done my research, I know there's virtually none—but if it does, I'll make a strong effort towards doing something with this. So if updates come a little skim, it's my hesitance in putting this online while I'm communicating with their publishing people (That sounds professional. I don't actually have any hook right now, don't misinterpret me). Don't worry, I'm not stopping. But my writing foot may be placed on another step for a little while, so the actual _writing _may get the back shelf for a period. You're all amazing, so I've vowed to not stop updating for at least a month or two. Keep your eye on the story, but just know the future as well. Enjoy!

**Chapter 10 **_More Than Meets the Eye_

"Kerchak!" called Tarzan, staring out at a large gorilla in the treetops above. "Please listen to me! I know the nesting grounds are secret, but I trust them. You see, I want to help them. Because… because… well, they need us!"

Kerchak stared pensively into the distance.

"Did you get that?" asked Goofy, referring to Tarzan's gorilla garbling.

"No," responded Donald plainly.

"Kerchak!" Tarzan shouted. The gorilla turned and left, disgusted by Tarzan's attempted betrayal. "Kerchak…"

The shadow of the trees slowly engulfed them. Donald pointed into the distance. "Tarzan! Look! He's running somewhere! It looks like something's wrong!"

"Look here," said Goofy, who had apparently climbed up a tree with thick, well spaced branches. They followed him and looked out, over the sea of green canopies that sailed for miles in every direction. In the distance, climbing like a skyscraper, was the colossal tree house, grazing in the midst of the wildlife. A flock of black shadows swooped up from the emerald leaves and soared across a crystalline sky. Howler monkeys and parrots echoed through the air, their voices making a sonata in the wind.

Something was moving by the tree house.

"Is that… Kerchak?" asked Goofy, pointing towards a rising brown tree, shaved of leaves and branches, whose enormous trunk served as a bridge to the building.

"Follow Kerchak…" said Tarzan, and he grabbed his friends, swooping back into the jungle. Tarzan's incredible strength allowed him to wrap all three of Sora and his companions in his massive arms and take off unhindered, running through the jungle gracefully, leaping from branch to branch through the wide trees. Golden beams of sunlight dabbled over his leaps, but everything else blurred past: leaves, branches, twigs, moss, insects, all in a swirl of gray-green light that came to a rapid halt as they approached the tree house, following the wide, brown branch that climbed steeply towards the entrance.

Looking up from where they ascended, they could slowly make out a young, female gorilla playing with a broken globe inside the structure. Donald recognized her as the gorilla that had fired past him at the landing site.

"Terk…" said Tarzan, running like a river current up the tree, fearful of Kerchak's unpleasant reaction earlier. Donald followed suit, Goofy and Sora taking the rear.

Terk was playfully toying with the broken instruments in some of the battered crates, unaware as everyone outside heard a distinctive click…

Of a bullet.

"NO!" cried Donald, diving forward into a mess of foliage, where he had recognized the metal of a gun barrel. The gun went off, gray smoke fuming behind a fast red beam, the bullet lost in the clouds as the gunman fell to the bark of the pathway tree.

It was Clayton.

Tarzan looked up as Kerchak leaned down over Terk, embracing her, and then taking off, leaving a vicious stare for Tarzan as he ushered Terk away.

"Kerchak… please…" he tried. But the lead gorilla was too far away to hear him.

Sora wheeled on Clayton, pointing the Keyblade at his neck, pinning him against the tree trunk. The tip fumed with the premonition of a fire spell.

"You don't understand. I was only trying to… a… a snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life!" Clayton's eyes bulged with terror.

Sora pulled back his weapon, hesitant about what to do. Clayton could have been telling the truth. After all, since they had to go _up_ to reach the tree house, they couldn't see anything on the floor inside. So Clayton _may_ have been trying to save Terk.

_But no_, remarked his conscience wisely. _He wouldn't be hiding if that was the case._

"Get up," said Sora. "And follow me."

The Keyblade now jabbed into the hunter's back was a clear sign that he had no choice. Sora knew just how to handle him.

¤

With a resounding smack, Jane's hand crashed across Clayton's face, staining his cheek with a red mark. "How could you do such a thing?" she shrieked.

"Miss Porter! As I told you, I was _not _aiming at the gorilla!"

"You are not to go near the gorillas again!" she ordered. "Is that understood?"

"All because of one mishap? Come now…" But she didn't come. Instead, she slapped him again, and then pivoted around angrily, her cold shoulder clearly ordering him to leave the tent. He did so readily. Jane dropped down at her desk and began scribbling madly at a piece of paper.

"What's all that?" asked Sora, pointing to her quickly growing letter.

"The request for the immediate… removal… and punishment… of one Mr. Clayton… to be tried for abuse of animals… and abandonment… of their rights as stated by due… course… of law."

Sora smiled secretly.

Outside, Clayton did the same. He had left the campsite for the shelter of a large bamboo thicket, where soft blue daylight dampened the wild flaxen bamboo sprouting haphazardly from the edges of the space. Green hillocks were lined in fresh saplings, and husks of cut bamboo lay sprawled across the dew-splashed grass.

Clayton's smile was much unlike Sora's, for it was filled with malice, its edges curling devilishly around, as he yelled into the afternoon: "What am I doing with these imbeciles? Blasted gorillas! I'll hunt down every last one of them! I'll track them down somehow. I'll stake my life on it…"

¤

"What was that?" asked Jane, shaking as she lay her pen uneasily on the tabletop.

"I don't know," said Sora. "Come on, guys. Let's go check it out."

With the tent flap pulled back in his hand, Sora froze in fear.

Outside, rushing toward the tent, and now only yards away, was a swarm of monkeys, but they were solid black, with the Heartless insignia painted across their chests.

"Heartless here?" moaned Sora. "What called them?" He had his Keyblade out, and pointed it forward, waiting for the animals to get closer before he charged, his weapon then slashing through them like a knife through butter. They exploded in smoke, but the scores he missed charged him with an unexpected intelligence and pinned him to the ground. They beat and tugged, yanking his hair and pounding down into him. Goofy came rushing with his shield held forward, knocking the creatures aside, as Donald picked them off with bursts of electrical energy.

"Help!" Sora cried as one lifted a carved stick of bamboo and dove at his face.

A thick gunshot sent the Heartless flying backwards, exploding in clouds of darkness. Jane was standing in front of the tent, one of Clayton's guns thrusting her back from the shot. Tarzan leapt out behind her and began seizing the monkeys by the neck, crashing their skulls on each others', flinging them at the fence surrounding the clearing, not waiting to watch as he took out one after another. Sora let a swirl of ice shards fire from his Keyblade, knifing through his foes as Donald and Goofy cleaned up the rest.

"Where's Clayton?" asked Jane, once the area was clear, though not unmarked by the tumult the small battle had caused.

"Clayton," repeated Tarzan absentmindedly, lumbering around the area looking for him. "Come now!" he suddenly shouted, stopping at the edge of one of the gateways.

"What is it?" asked Jane, lifting her skirt as she ran towards him.

"Not know," said Tarzan. "Clayton's."

"It's his pipe," said Jane. "What… what could have happened to him? Was it those monkeys? What's going on here? Those animals were like smoke, and they were certainly not normal. The way they behaved… it was… _evil_."

"Do you really care if Clayton's alright?" said Sora.

"It's not that," said Jane. "It's just… well… if something bad happened to him… If something… _hurt_ him… what's stopping it from coming for us next?"

Sora stared uneasily into the desolate bamboo thicket. Was it animals? Heartless?

Or worse?

¤

They passed through the bamboo thicket, the steam of a distant river rolling across the grass, sticking their clothes to their bodies like an uncomfortable second skin. Every bead of sweat noticeably rolled down their faces, their hands already soaked from clearing it off. The afternoon sun flared overhead, sparkling red light through the tree branches above as they entered a mountainous area with walls three stories high jutting out in natural brown rock.

There was a mess of small rocks on the wall as if it had broken a bit beneath someone scaling the first tier of the stone. Sora climbed it and looked around, the dense foliage and grandeur of trees spreading in every possible direction, even spreading over the cliff face above him. Green ferns bloomed from the brush around him, concealing any footprints or signs of where Clayton could have gone.

Until the rumbling began.

It was soft at first, like a weak drum roll. Then it got louder, shaking the ground like a tremor. The trees began to totter, the ferns wave like a mob, and the dew on the ground spray about like a sprinkler.

And then came the explosion.

Through the rock wall, boulders and pebbles and everything between went soaring through the air, snapping smaller trees in half with ease and still went on. Dust clouds puffed out from the hole that Sora was standing just aside. Or rather laying, for he had fallen with the force of the blast.

In the midst of the newly cleared gap was Clayton, sitting atop…

Nothing.

He was floating in the air, sitting on wind, as if an invisible horse was beneath him. Suddenly, he lurched forward, and the space beneath him rippled, revealing the hazy outline of something huge and reptile.

Sora dove out, catching the hunter by surprise as he drew his gun, Sora slashing at the invisible being beneath. The cloaking spell momentarily flickered, just long enough to reveal an enormous chameleon.

Then it vanished again, charging at Donald. Clayton spun around on the back, his eyes squinting into the scope of his rifle, aiming directly at Sora. The bullet shot out, just missing Sora's hair, and in that instant, Clayton locked his gaze with the Keybearer's and Sora saw that his eyes were shrouded in black, consumed by darkness.

Suddenly, Clayton lurched forward, his stomach thrusting as a bolt of thunder from Donald's wand pitched him off of the chameleon's hide. Goofy used his shield to bravely knock the invisible fiend aside, and the spell flickered once more, revealing their enemy against the grass. Sora charged, stabbing his weapon repeatedly in the side of the creature, drawing shadowy black blood with each consecutive attack.

Clayton rose quietly to his feet and snuck up behind, his gun raised in the air. Donald cried out, but too late, for the handle crashed hard on Sora's head knocking him dizzily to the side, a thick bruise forming on his scalp. But in the mix, Sora's Keyblade slashed Clayton across the face, leaving a thin scar across his cheek.

"He's… not human… any longer…" gasped Sora. "The darkness… has… taken… him…"

The hunter dropped down, temporarily stunned by the sharp pain from the weapon. Goofy lunged forward, slamming his shield down on Clayton's skull, dropping the hunter heavily to the ground, before thrusting the shield into Clayton's chest, and letting go. Donald pointed his wand, and turned away as the shield conducted the coming thunderbolt into a channel of massive electricity, killing Clayton on the spot. Sora turned away in horror.

"Where's Tarzan?" asked Goofy in puzzlement as the chameleon began to spasmodically rise.

Tarzan, who had spent the time scaling an enormous tree, suddenly dove down, two large wooden staves in his arms that were really just branches he had found. The distance of his fall was enough to crush one of the chameleon's legs, and the spell wore off completely, giving the gorilla man full rein to assault the monster, pounding his two weapons repeatedly at the hide until the creature failed to resist any longer.

As it rolled over listlessly, Sora recognized for the first time that the Heartless insignia was painted across its chest. The sight was only momentary, for with a final strike from Tarzan, the chameleon's ethereal, heart-shaped soul went floating from its chest, and it dissipated into the wind, not a trace of the animal left alive.

Unexpectedly, Sora began to cry.

¤

It was an oddly honorable experience. Kerchak, his wife, Kala, and even the whimsical Terk had lined up with the entire horde of gorillas, in the only way they could thank Tarzan and his friends for eliminating both the hunter and the chameleon, which Tarzan translated had been plaguing the jungle for days.

There was a lot of grunting going on between Tarzan and Kerchak, and finally an embrace. The gorilla leader suddenly snatched Tarzan up and pitched him over the rocky façade of the battlegrounds. To Sora's horror, he and his friends were thrown up as well, Jane following behind, landing uncomfortably on her rear.

"Well. That wasn't terrifying," said Jane, rising up and flattening her dress with her palms.

Before them, a gray stone mountain rose up like a majestic panorama, its glorious peak rising taller than the highest clouds, with fresh aquamarine water gushing from the tip down into a beautiful lake, transparent to the very floor of the liquid.

"Tarzan, home," said Tarzan.

¤

A beautifully arched cavern entrance led them into the heart of the mountain, where blue light washed in from the distant holes in the mountain wall. Lush green moss grew around the many outcrops, and perfect stalagmites fluttered up elegantly from the floor of the cave.

"_Hua_," said Tarzan for the first time in hours.

Sora unintentionally tuned it out, and stared around the echoing space. "This is so different from the jungle. It's really your home, huh? But that means…"

"The waterfalls…" cut in Jane, equally distracted. "They're echoing all the way here."

"_Hua_," said Tarzan again, pointing within the tunnels. "Friends there. See friends."

Sora's heart skipped a beat as he began to run into the tunnel, but no one followed. His footsteps struck the stone, resonating around the rock like a cymbal, until he realized there was no one there. He turned around, returned in solemnity.

"I don't understand," said Jane, sighing.

Tarzan touched his chest. "_Hua_. Friends there."

"Oh! Of course!" said Jane, her face lighting up with sadness, but a grand admiration for the rugged warrior. "_Hua_ means heart," she said. "Friends in our hearts…"

"Heart," repeated Tarzan.

"Oh, so that's what it meant," said Sora, thinking that his _hua_ felt as if it had been shredded into scraps and scattered in the wind, caught and compressed by the force of the waterfalls outside.

"Friends, same heart," said Tarzan. "Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends."

Sora turned around, a shiver of guilt quavering down his spine. "Donald…" he said, every memory of their accident flashing through his head, "I'm sorry about what I said."

"I'm… sorry too," replied the duck, sighing.

Goofy walked forward to them, the great mediator, and placed his hands on their shoulders. "Yeah. All for one, huh?"

They looked ahead together, into the tunnel, where a group of blue butterflies had alighted on the wall. Here in this sanctum of earth, they felt at peace, and more relaxed than in ages.

Just then, the butterflies began to glow, or rather, something blue glowed beneath them, which startled them, so they flew back, revealing a glittering blue keyhole, carved into the stone.

"Oh, look!" cried Jane.

Sora raised his Keyblade.

A beam of green light spiraled out, tiny leaves blossoming instantly out from the hole as the light touched, vanishing the gap beneath a tangle of vines. A resounding bump echoed softly through the cavern.

"I guess we closed it," said Goofy.

"I guess so," said Sora, sheathing his weapon.

Goofy stepped forward. On the ground was a block made up of a squishy red and yellow substance.

"Another gummi?" asked Sora.

"Yeah, but it's sure not the king's" said Goofy.

Behind, there was a deep grunt, and something large and hairy lunged at Donald, and everyone rapidly unsheathed their weapons.

But then, Jane began to laugh.

"It looks like someone has a new admirer," said Jane.

Donald opened his eyes, and saw Terk had swung her arms gratefully around her prior savior, and planted a sloppy gorilla kiss on his cheek.

"No, no, no, no!" wailed the duck. "Daisy would kill me!"

And everyone laughed.

¤

Maleficent appeared back in her hall, green fire flaring out around her.

"What drew the Heartless to that world?" asked the man with the gold staff, the snake eyes on his cane's head glowing dangerously. Maleficent turned smoothly towards him.

"The hunter lured them there. It was his lust for power that was the bait. But it seems the bait was too tasty for his own good."

"Yeah!" laughed another villain, his entire body seemingly enveloped in a large cloth. "He got chomped instead!"

"A weak-hearted fool like him stood no chance against the Heartless," observed the first man. "But the boy is a problem. He has found another of the Keyholes."

"Fear not," said Maleficent, pointing to the table, where Sora's image appeared in a haze of fog. "It will take him ages to find the rest. And besides, he remains blissfully unaware of our other plan."

"Yes," sneered the covered rogue, tossing his luminescent dice in the air. "The princesses."

Maleficent pointed towards the door to the hall, which was thrust open by a fast spell, and Alice fell to her knees on the hard stone floor. Maleficent smiled.

"They are falling into our hands one by one."

¤

"Well, guess we better get going," Sora said.

"Where is your ship, anyway?" asked Jane.

"Well, uh… not too far," said Donald.

"Sora," said Tarzan, staring intently up at the Keybearer. "Sora, Tarzan, friends."

Sora smiled at him, got a hug from Jane, and walked off with Donald and Goofy back into the jungle, back to where the Gummi Ship lay concealed by the trees.

"The gummi block that came out of that glowing hole… it's not like the others. What's it used for?"

"I dunno," said Donald honestly.

"Maybe Leon'll know," said Goofy.

"Hmm… he might. Back to Traverse Town, then?" asked Donald, entering the craft in front.

"Fine. But I wanna be pilot," said Sora, pushing him aside.

"Hey, no! Stop it!" shouted Donald.

"Oh, come on!" retorted Sora. "I _am_ the Keyblade master!"

"I don't care who you are!" shouted Donald. "No!"

Goofy closed the door lightly and lay down on one of the wider seats. "Here we go again…"


	12. The Old Wizard

My Dear Readers: So, it's been a long time in the making, but this chapter is finally out. It took a while, because I was continually unhappy with how things were unrolling. There was just no direction. So, using Merlin as my plot device, I changed the objective of this chapter, and think it came out satisfactorily. So, more desperately than ever, I need your opinions of how this chapter was, so I can fix any gaping messes in the chapter. Here's to the rest coming out a little quicker, and if any of you are curious as to my last comment, I have not begun to write to Square or Disney regarding this as a novelization, because I wanted to complete Traverse Town II first, and I ended up not doing that in this chapter, so 1 chapter to go, and then I'll meet with my English teacher, and try to get the ball rolling. Thanks for your continual support, folks! Enjoy _The Old Wizard_! 

Erydian

Chapter 11 _The Old Wizard_

"Why are we stopping here?" Sora asked, looking at the familiar cobblestone walk to the Olympus Coliseum.

"We need to let the engines cool," explained Goofy, unbuckling his seatbelt in the front, and moving toward the door. "We've been pushing this little ship pretty hard, so we're gonna need to get some work done in Traverse Town. Until then, we need to make sure we don't push the ship to hard, uh… yup!"

They all stepped out of the Gummi ship and stretched, feeling a soft breath of warm air brush over their faces. Cool sunlight rose up in the distance past the enormous arena, and dappled over the wall to the floating walkway where they stood, just like back in Traverse Town.

The gates to the arena broke open, and an old friend came charging along the path.

"Hey, squirt! Hurry up and come 'ere! _Jeez, I thought you'd never get back_!"

"Phil?" started Sora in alarm. "Is something wrong?"

"Just come on!" shouted Phil, turning back inside. They ran forward, and crossed the plaza in a hurry, seeing Phil disappear into the entry hall.

"What's this all about?" barked Donald.

"Why are you asking me?" Sora said. "I've been here only as long as you have."

They entered the hall and looked around, confused.

"What's the matter, Phil?" Sora asked, seeing the satyr leaning against the right wall with a smug look.

"Remember what used to be here?" he asked.

"Uh… not really…" replied Sora.

"Remember that big block," Phil pressed, "that none of us could move? The one I wanted out of here for the games, and then I said I'd have Hercules move?"

"Uh, I think so," said Sora, confused. Why on earth would Phil charge all the way to their ship to tell them a chunk of rock had been moved?

"Well, Herc took it out right after you left, and look what I found behind it."

Phil stepped aside, and carved deep into the wall was another keyhole, and it seemed to stretch endlessly through and past the wall into darkness.

"I remembered that big key of yours and figured you could get rid of it."

"I'm on it," replied Sora, awestruck at another one of the mysterious keyholes they had been finding everywhere.

He pointed the Keyblade and watched as yet another trail of light encompassed the depths of the lock and everywhere boomed the sound of its closure. The stone wall showed no trace of it ever having been there.

"Dang," said Phil, amazed at the Keyblade's power. "What was that? It was like the entire world closed…"

"Yeah," said Sora, intrigued. "The world closed…"

¤

"Donald Duck to launch crew! Come in Chip and Dale!"

"Donald," squeaked a peppy voice through the Gummi ship's radio, "Chip here! What's up?"

"Can you get us through to someone in Traverse Town?"

"You bet!" radioed Chip back, and then the line turned to static as the frequency changed. The three of them stood around the dashboard of the ship, letting the craft fly in autopilot for a few hours.

"Donald?" came a deep voice.

"Leon?" replied Donald.

"Yeah. What's the matter? How'd you get this station?"

"It doesn't matter," cut in Sora. "But I need you to explain something to us. The Keyblade's been sealing these keyholes in the worlds we've been to. We don't know why or how, but there's this flash of light, and then this booming closing sound that's like _booo-ummm_."

"Thanks for that rendition," retorted Leon. Sora's face turned fiery red. "When will you guys get here. I don't want to broadcast this. Someone could be listening."

"How?" asked Goofy.

"It doesn't matter," snapped Leon, and Sora felt a tinge of guilt. "When will you arrive in town?"

"Two hours, tops," said Donald.

"Fine. Then in two hours, meet me in the abandoned waterway. Go behind the old hotel, and you'll-"

"Donald? Donald are you there?" It was a female's voice, soft and calm.

"A… Aerith?" asked Donald.

"Yes. Listen. Do you remember where I found you? There should be a sewer grating in the town wall by that area. I don't want to disclose anything else, but the grating will come off, and you can find us there. We'll be able to talk privately there."

"Okay," replied the trio in earnest, now desperate to take off for Traverse Town.

The radio went off with a click, and everyone stared perplexedly into the grand expanse of space.

¤

"Good. You made it," said Leon. Sora was just barely squeezing through the gap of the sewage tunnel as Leon immediately continued. "So, you found the Keyholes?"

"Yeah," said Sora. "They locked automatically. I think the-"

"Every world among the stars has a Keyhole," said Leon. "And each one leads to the heart of that world. There must be one in this town as well."

"What do you mean?" said Sora.

"It was all in Ansem's Report," said Aerith. Sora thought of the battered pages locked in the ship. "The Heartless enter through the Keyhole and do something to the world's core."

"What happens to the world?" asked Sora uneasily.

"In the end," said Leon bluntly, "it disappears."

Sora shivered.

"That's why your Key is so important," said Leon.

"Please lock the Keyholes. It will keep the Heartless from devouring the planet. If they do that, everyone on it will be thrown into turmoil. Many will die. Some will end up elsewhere because their hearts were stronger. Like yours. You're the only one who can do this, Sora."

"I'm not on a goose chase, though. I just want to find my friends."

"Then continuing to travel to other worlds would probably serve you well."

"Yeah," said Goofy. "We'll find your friends! And King Mickey!"

"I guess you're right," nodded Sora. "Alright. And… oh! Hey, Leon. This gummi block is different from the others. Do you know what it's for?"

"Hmm…" said Leon, fiddling with the cube in his hand.

"Why don't you ask Cid?" said Aerith, snatching the block out of Leon's hand as if it were a toy he was not allowed to play with. "He should know."

The trio turned to leave when Leon called out to them, his fingers pressed to his forehead.

"Listen. It's going to be difficult. But you've proved yourself so far. _Keep your light burning strong._"

Sora shivered. He had heard that in his dream. That mysterious voice had echoed in his life again. Sora squinted in confusion at Leon, but covered with a nod.

They left, and Sora didn't mention it to anyone.

¤

"What've you got there?" asked Cid, as Goofy placed the blue block on the glass countertop in the store. "Hey!" he laughed. "Well, if that ain't a gummi block."

"What's it for?" quacked Donald.

"You're kiddin' me!" shouted Cid, tossing his hands in the air. "You're flyin' a Gummi ship and you don't know nothin' 'bout navigation gummis? (_Bunch of pinheads…_) Interspace ain't no playground, ya hear?"

"There's a lot we don't know, gramps," retorted Sora, "So lighten up. We have to use the Gummi ship to go to other worlds! The entire fate of every world lies in the fact that we can prevent any turmoil there in time. So how 'bout you keep stalling, so that hundreds of people die while you complain?"

"Jeez, kid. Easy. I didn't know. No hard feelings, a'right?"

"Thanks," said Sora.

"Basically," explained Cid, "with Navigation gummis, you can go to new places. They'll grant you access to wormholes, in short. I take it you want one on your ship, right?"

"A-yup!" said Goofy.

"I'll install it for you, then. But I got this thing I gotta go deliver first. It'll be fast."

"We'll do it," said Sora. "What is it?"

"Just this book. It's real old. When the guy brought it in, it was practically fallin' apart. Too beat up to restore the way it was. But overall, I did a decent job puttin' it back together. Anyway, you sure you don't mind? Alright, then. It's the old house past the Third District. Look for the door with the blue hat painted on it."

"Got it," said Sora, lifting the rather large tome from the table, and making sure its pages stayed in tact as he tucked the book under his arm.

Just as Sora reached for the handle, a loud chime echoed across all of Traverse Town.

"Hmm?" asked Sora, as the metallic reverberation died down. "What was that?"

"That's strange," said Cid. "The bell in the old tower is ringing. Go check it out if you want, but deliver that book for me first. When you're done, stop by the abandoned apartment in the Third District. I'll have the streetlamps on in front of it. You won't be able to miss it."

"Got it. Book, bell, old apartment. I'll see you in a bit."

¤

"_Archimedes! Archimedes! That's enough! Get up this instant, or we're going to be late!"_

"_What, what? Who's there?"_

"_Oh, don't be daft, you confounded feather pouf! Get out of your little bird hut, so I can pack it away with everything else."_

"_Oh, no you don't!" said Archimedes, a tiny, snooty owl who had been rudely awaken by his master, the great wizard Merlin. "Arthur," he reminded Merlin, "expressly forbid you to make any long trips!"_

"_Oh, Archimedes," complained Merlin. "We're not going anywhere too far. It's barely three hours by gummi to Traverse Town!"_

"_Traverse Town!" shrieked the owl. "Traverse Town! We're at Disney Castle, I'll have you know, and I will not be awoken in the middle of my beauty sleep to go flapping our wings to that ruddy old dump of a village. Just because it has flashy yellow lights and a big gate doesn't mean I'll be packing my things to visit, thank you very much!"_

"_Oh, dash it all, Archimedes! Cid finished with that book of mine, and he'll be giving it to the Keybearer in a few hours, so we need to meet up with the lad before he gets all confused. So pack up!"_

"_Ooh, that just beats all…" groaned Archimedes, who shuffled out into the room and fluttered up towards the ceiling._

"_Now," said Merlin, finding a place atop an upturned wash basin, "Where to begin?" He looked around the room, at the towering bookshelves, and the unmade bed. Papers lay spewn across the desk, and the center dining table was laden with dirty silverware and china._

"_Oh, what was that spell, Archimedes?" asked Merlin. "The packing one?"_

"_I am not your spell book, you confounded old goat!"_

"_Confounded old- well, that's enough Archimedes," groaned the old wizard. "The sooner we're gone, the-"_

"_Sooner we're back! I know, Merlin. Oh, for heaven's sake. Higitus Figitus, Merlin!"_

"_Right, right. Higitus Figitus…" He fixed his pointy blue hat, and fluffed his long periwinkle robe. His gray hair wound down behind his head and crooked spectacles, and he drew his wand from the air, proceeding to tap the basin below him._

"_Higitus Figitus ubba kizae!" commanded Merlin._

"_I want your attention everything!_

_We're packing to leave! Come on, let's go!_

_No, no, not you! Books are always first, you know!"_

_As Merlin began his enchantment, the objects in the room lifted off of the floor, floating about in a swirling mess, books and teakettles, chairs and pillows, all conglomerating in the air above, and circling down slowly, shrinking in size, to fit comfortably into a light traveling bag at Merlin's feet._

"_Hockety pockety wockety wack," he continued._

"_Abracadabra, dabra nack,  
Shrink in size very small!  
We've got to save enough room for all!  
Higitus Figitus migitus mum,  
Pres-ti-dig-i-ter-i-um!  
_

"_Cicero you belong in the "C's,"  
Alphabethical order please!  
Ali-i-ca-fez, bal-a-ca-zez,  
Malacazez meripides!  
Diminish, diminish, dictionary!  
That word's in your vocabulary!  
Hockety pockety wockety wack,  
That's the way we've got to pack!  
Higitus Figitus migitus mum, _

_Higitus… figitus… figitus… ehh… stop! Stop! Stop!" Merlin stepped down, interceding the parade of suddenly frozen, levitating furniture, to sort out a traffic jam in the silverware department. "Now, err… see here sugar bowl! You're getting too rough! Poor old tea set's cracked enough!"_

_The sugar bowl, somehow insulted, dove into the bag on the floor, shrinking on the way, its two metal rings suddenly shaped remarkably like two arms crossed indignantly against its porcelain belly._

"_Hoo," laughed Merlin. "Oh, well, all right. Let's start again, shall we? Eh… eh who… eh whibba what… err… em… oh, where was I?"_

"_It doesn't matter, Merlin!" cried Archimedes. "It's a stupid old rhyme for synchronizing your wand movements to a controlled… oh, for heaven's sake. Eh… Hockety pockety, or what have you!"_

"_Oh, yes, that's right!" grinned Merlin. "Hockety pockety wockety wack, Odds and ends and bric a brac!_

"_Higitus Figitus migitus mum,  
Pres-ti-dig-i-ter-i-um!  
Higitus Figitus migitus mum,  
Pres-ti-dig-i-ter-i-um!"_

¤

"The water here is pretty murky…" Sora said, looking across an underground lake with blackened fluid filling its rocky basin. No light poured into the cavern, save the dim starlight seeping through the doorway that led back into the third district.

"Is that the house?" asked Donald, pointing across the water. Large boulders drifting over the nearly still surface formed a quasi-path to an island in the middle of the lake. On top was a house, small and ancient, with a crooked roof and broken chimney that barely within the miniscule outcrop.

"I think so," replied Goofy.

They followed the path through the lake, the rubber and leather soles of their shoes sliding along the moss covered, dew-sprayed stones bobbing up and below the surface like buoys.

They glided across, their feet slipping out, small breaths of water spilling like the wind across the tired green surfaces of the rock until they lay foot on the small island, the tiny reserve hidden deep within Traverse Town. There was one window, grand and wide, roughly nine feet above even Goofy's high head. Sora was first to find the door, which had seemed to have taken refuge around back. It was arched and lined by small, oddly shaped cobblestones that led openly into the deserted, one room cottage.

"There's something about this musty place…" said Sora.

Through the chimney, which did not in fact lead to a fireplace but to the roof itself, a single beam of nearly non-existent light fell through.

And it landed on Kairi.

Stunned, Sora stepped forward, looked at her.

"It reminds me of the secret place back home," she said, losing no time, "where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?"

Sora thought back to his last full day on the island, sunlight swimming around him unlike this deserted cottage's blackness. He remembered chalking a paopu fruit onto the stone, passing it to Kairi's image.

A tear secretly rolled down his cheek.

For this time, he _knew_ he was dreaming.

"Kairi…" he said mournfully, and watched as her figure vanished like a gentle breeze, scattering into nothingness.

"Sora…" interjected Goofy, his wide eyes showing confusion and sadness as he laid a large hand on Sora's shoulder.

The moment of solemnity was, however, interrupted by the wrinkled voice, of a tall man who had flung himself inside in a hurry, long silver beard first, and his body just following after.

"Well… well… well…" said the tall man, tossing his suitcase aside, his blue robes swirling about him. "You'd arrived a bit sooner than I expected."

"What?" asked Sora. "You knew we were coming?"

"Of course!" said the man. "I am, after all, a wizard! Ehh… umm… my name is Merlin."

Sora dropped his hand to his Keyblade instinctively. "Are you with the Heartless?" he asked bluntly.

"Oh, heaven's no!" he said, unsheathing his wand from the air. "Never touch the things!"

"Then who are you?"

"Well… oh, my!" he said, looking around at all of the confused faces. Archimedes fluttered in and rested on his shoulder. "Well, umm… this is Archimedes, my owl. I, well, as you can see, travel rather a lot. This is, you might say, my home away from home. Your king," he said, facing Donald, "has requested my help."

"King Mickey?" asked Goofy.

"Why, yes indeed," said Merlin. "Now, I have been told you are Donald and Goofy. So _you_ must be the Keybearer. And what is your name, my lad?"

"Can't you tell… if you could see that we were coming here?"

"Oh, heaven's no!" cried Merlin once again, laughing at a joke only he understood. "I am… as we say… a prognosticator! I can see the future! But it's just images and all that… stuff! No names, my boy, no names!"

"Well, mine's Sora, mister Merlin… uh… sir."

"Sora. How interesting. Well, Sora, this will just take a moment if you'll excuse me."

The old man proceeded to the center of the room, pointed his wand at his bag, and bellowed, "_Higitus Figitus_!" in such a thunderous voice that the feeble walls wobbled in a place. The bag, which he had thrown aside earlier, now began to spit out his furniture, spewing it about the room, while Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Archimedes watched the miniature versions of everything pop out and expand as they found their places in the circular area.

As the last book placed itself alphabetically on the shelf, Merlin found a chair around his white table and sat down.

"Tea?" he asked pleasantly. The trio welcomed the offer. The ancient teakettle hobbled over to Sora first, and bent over like an old beggar, splashing fresh, hot tea, into a cup eagerly ready on its saucer.

"It has come to my attention," said the wizard, "that you have been sealing the keyholes to neighboring worlds. Is that correct?"

"Yes," said Sora.

"Good," added Merlin. "Sugar?"

"Sorry? Oh, yes please."

The feisty sugar pot hopped off and began towards Merlin, hefting a spoon into its arms and beginning to scoop out a handful of sugar crystals.

"Where are your manners?" barked Merlin. "Guests first! Now, just say 'when,' boy."

As Sora monitored the sugar, Merlin turned away to a journal on the desk beside him. "You must understand, firstly, my boy, that I am, as we say, a soothsayer. A prog-_nost_-i-cator! I can see into the future, as I have said!"

"Can you really see everything?" Goofy asked.

"Everything!" shouted Merlin childishly, waving his hands like a child performing magic tricks.

"Everything, Merlin?" complained Archimedes from within his small cage, his voice echoing around the wooden walls.

"Oh, alright! Not… _every_thing…. After all, I cannot see the fate that is to occur based on your actions. But as you can see, I knew precisely that _you three_ would come, and I do believe you have a book for me."

"Oh, yes," said Sora, pulling the book out from inside of his coat, handing the tattered tome to Merlin for closer inspection. The old sorcerer lay the volume on his bedside table and returned to the center of the room, where he found the sugar bowl to be continually dumping sugar into his tea, such that a small mountain of snow had amassed in his drink.

"When!" cried Merlin angrily. "When! Dash it all… WHEN!" The sugar bowl took off in alarm as Merlin dusted his mound of sugar with his beard, murmuring about the "Confounded crockery," under his breath.

"Sora…" said Merlin, sitting down with a huff. "What I have to tell you is very important, but you may not be able to do much regarding it. You see, lad, the Keyblade is a very powerful weapon. It chooses its master, for it finds them to be pure of heart. But it is not the only Keyblade. No. Each holds a very different purpose, and yours is clearly meant to seal worlds against the Heartless. But the Heartless are an integral part of reality. Their existence counteracts what would be overbearing goodness, which can also be destructive in its own right."

He lifted his tea to his lips, gulping it down to the dregs as Sora processed what he was being told.

"It is no doubt imperative that you fight all of the Heartless, and vanquish them. Otherwise, this Keyblade would not have manifested itself as it has. Know, though, that others are working to do precisely the opposite of what you're working towards, my boy. They want to augment the spawning of these creatures, and pitch the worlds into darkness.

"They are no fools, though, Sora. They know they cannot control this darkness. Yet they crave this anarchy, where chaos reigns and people are sent to die. It is twisted, but they know nothing better. So you must stop them.

"All of them."

Sora stared at him, the cup in his hand growing cold as he sat pensively, uncomfortably.

"Give him the book," echoed Archimedes' voice from inside his nest.

"Right, right, right," said Merlin in a rush. He swept over to a back shelf, and withdrew a familiar looking journal, thin and narrow, which he handed to Sora.

"I have seen that you have found the scientist Ansem's first two journals. I have here the third of the collection, but, err… umm… I believe that the witch Maleficent owns all of the others."

"Maleficent," said Sora, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"She is a terrible witch, but I know little of her. She is working to some other end, that I am sure, though she has people believing she simply wants to control the darkness. There is more to her plans, though, Sora. That I _know_."

Merlin watched as Sora opened the journal, and the dusty cracking sound pulsed through the room as the front cover fell limply aside.

"You may keep it," said Merlin. "I have memorized it all."

And as Sora began to read, with Donald and Goofy leaning over his shoulder, Merlin began to recite:

The shadows that crawl beneath the castle…

Are they people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination? All my knowledge has provided no answer.

One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion.

Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart. Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They still need a name.

Those who lack hearts…

I will call them Heartless.

"Sora…" Donald said plainly. "Explain."

"I'm not really sure this time," said Sora.

"I believe I can be of assistance," said Merlin, washing his spectacles on his robe. "Ansem is ruthless. As you can see, he has locked away his prey to the darkness, and there the Heartless feed and consume the humans of that world. He has named them, for they are his own. Ansem is one of the ones I have told you are out to augment the darkness, to set it under study. Yet he is a fool, for he hopes to control it. But heed my words, Sora, Goofy, Donald."

The old man turned to his one window, staring off into the cavern as the three waited for his conclusion.

"A fool though Ansem may be, you will never stop his cause…"


	13. Snippets

**Author's Note: **It's been a long time coming. You've probably wondered if I simply shut down this project all together. But, I can assure you, I'm still grinding away. I'm nearly finished with Atlantica, and I pray on every literary deity that Squaresoft would so much as peruse this manuscript one day upon completion. With that in mind, I don't really want to provide the entire text, but since you are the most amazing readers I could ask for, I'm placing some of my favorite little portions thus far to whet your appetites. I hope you enjoy what you read, and I promise to finish!

**Snippets**

**Chapter 12**

**Friend Lost to Fate**

"_You see?" asked the witch, her long, green fingers rested on Riku's shoulder. Maleficent pointed inside the building, through the black fog she had created to conceal her and the boy. "It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with new companions. Evidently, he values them far more than he does you. You're better off without that wretched boy. Now, think no more of him, and come with me. I'll help you find what… _who_… you're searching for." _

-

The streetlamps had all changed to a silky blue, like the one in the building, and their light seemed to walk ahead, shining their way down to the fountain.

As their gaze once more rested on the fountain, a blue light grew from below it. The water inside fired up into the air, drawing a large crowd from the nearest apartments. A sweet music began to play as the bursts of water erupted like fireworks in the air, each with a distinctive blast.

The fountain below drained empty, to show an elegant mural behind it. As the crowd cheered, there was a sudden, deafening crack, and the mural exploded to reveal a radiant blue light.

It was a blue light surrounding a grand keyhole.

One hundred yards across the plaza, Sora lifted his Keyblade, feeling a surge of excitement rise from his feet to his hands. "_I will seal this world_," he thought, and felt as all of the surmounting energy thrust from hilt to key, then into a beam of violet light with a silver core, piercing directly into the Keyhole, which vanished in a flaring yellow flash. Everywhere and all around, the night hummed with the sound of the closure, and the blue lights dimmed to their normal, gentle hum. The music in the air vanished, and the fountain spurted soft, plain water once more.

As the crowd stared around for the source of the mysterious light, they were disheartened to find that the mystery of the Keyhole would never be solved. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had long since retired to the Gummi Ship, and had no intention of returning for a long, long time.

**Chapter 13**

**The Royal Vizier**

"_You said you had everything under control!" she snapped, powerfully and menacing. "We become fewer and fewer as this… _Keybearer_… continues to seal the worlds. Every time he lands, he destroys one of our company. We cannot grant him any more victories or it will cost us exponentially!"_

"_Agrabah is full of holes for rats to hide in. But why worry about Princess Jasmine? With her or without her, surely this world will be ours when we find the Keyhole."_

"_You fool! We need all _seven_ princesses of heart to open the final door. Any fewer is useless."_

"_Well, if the princess is that important, we'll find her." The vizier raised his gnarled hand, the other clutching his staff that bore the head of a menacing cobra with yellow, sunstone eyes. Darkness pulsed around his fingers, and then leapt into the ground, summoning forth a flank of Heartless in robes and turbans, brandishing lethal scimitars in their bandaged hands._

"_Find Jasmine and bring her to me at once!" he ordered._

_As the Heartless dispersed through the desert city's streets, Maleficent raised her head in disgust. _

"_Do not steep yourself in darkness for too long," she warned. "The Heartless consume the careless."_

_Jafar laughed a cold, throaty cackle. "Your concern is touching but hardly necessary."_

"_Is that so?" she asked, and put out her hand. Her green fire spewed out like a moonlit fountain and flushed around her, eventually fading away to reveal her disappearance._

_Jafar and his bird stood alone._

**Chapter 14**

**The Cave of Wonders**

In the sunlit plaza, a lone figure stood waiting before the palace gates. Jafar's black and red robes christened the area with battle stained distinction, pointedly drawing attention to his exposed location before the square. As the shadow of the carpet washed over his bony hand clutching his serpentine staff, Jafar's face simultaneously turned to the sky.

"Setting your sights a little high, aren't you boy?" he sneered. "Back to your hole, _street rat_. I will not allow you to trouble the princess any more." Jafar raised his staff, and a beam of thick darkness leapt out, stealing everyone's gaze to a place directly behind them. Jasmine, bound and gagged, was struck by the force, and as she desperately cried for help, she vanished into the swirling mist.

"Genie!" cried Aladdin, turning to the lamp. "Help Jasmine! Please!"

"Do I hear an 'I wish?'"

"YES!"

Genie rolled up his sleeves, or rather the blue skin where sleeves would be, pulling his flesh away from his shackles and leaving an empty gap where his arms had just been. As he raised his hands, though, nothing happened. No magic spurted from his fingertips, and no sign of Jasmine popped into the tension.

"I'm afraid your second wish has been denied," laughed Jafar. Everyone turned around to see that Iago, Jafar's parrot, had stolen the lamp and brought it to his evil master. Abu, the monkey, leapt out angrily, shaking his fists at the bird.

Genie conjured a playbill and began scanning its innards. "It seems the role of master will be played by a tall, dark, and sinister ugly man," he observed.

-

_Slowly, Jasmine awoke. She sat up, and looked around. There was noise coming from beneath her. In the floor was a massive crater, looking down to some cavern below. There was a sound like a vacuum, and then a puff. Someone said something about space._

_She stood, rubbing her arms. There was a sound behind her._

_She turned, heard something quick, felt a hand gloved in smooth leather cover her mouth. She couldn't breathe._

_She tried to fight, tried to struggle. Then, for some reason beyond her logic, she fell unconscious again._

_There was silence._

**Chapter 15**

**Monstrous Monstro**

"I wish… for your freedom, Genie."

The air grew still, the breeze stopped waving the curtains, and the humidity dripped in tiny beads to the ground. In the same gravity-heavy motion, the blue smoke below Genie's waist became two legs, tipped in curly golden shoes. The gold bands around his wrists exploded, popped magically into the air, and shot off into nothingness.

"Al… I… I'm… I'm free! Quick, wish for something! Wish for anything!" bellowed Genie. "Wish… for the Nile! Quick, wish for the Nile!"

"I…" said Aladdin, staring with a hopeless grin, "I wish for the Nile."

Genie jumped up, seemingly bouncing off the walls, and shouted: "No way!" With all of the excitement and fervor of a small child, he went hopping about, casting spells on whim, unbound and uncontrolled by anyone. Granted, his power was much more limited, but he felt whole, complete, and new.

Aladdin smiled at him, clearly still in depression about Jasmine, but knowing instinctively that he had made the right decision. "A deal's a deal," he smiled. "You can go anywhere you want, now, Genie. You're your own master."

Genie, speechless, dove out into the air above Agrabah, and to the surprise and delight of every citizen across the city, a torrent of fireworks exploded into the crystalline sky.

For the first time in ages, Sora felt happy. He turned to Aladdin and mouthed a good-bye, disappearing silently through the door. Aladdin turned to him one last time, waved and said, "Find her."

"Jasmine?" Sora asked.

"Kairi," Aladdin replied.

And with a smile, Sora left.

-

Sora could bare his friend's brunt no longer.

He drew the Keyblade in a clean sweep, and bent his knees.

His anger was clear.

"Let Pinocchio go, Riku."

The order was heavy and stern.

"What?" laughed Riku, seemingly unconcerned. "You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"

"Heart or no heart, at least he still has a conscience."

"Conscience?" asked Riku, one eyebrow raised above a tilted smirk, as if the conversation was just an amusement for his time.

"_You_ might not hear it," said Sora, fingering the hilt of his blade, "but right now it's loud and clear. And it's telling me that you're on the wrong side."

"Then you leave me no choice," said Riku, dropping the puppet casually aside. He raised his hands directly above his head, showing Sora the muscles he was not afraid to exert. Palms open, he began a spell that Sora was too afraid to admit to recognize.

A thick fog of the deepest black rushed out of Riku's fingers and crashed into the water.

A far too familiar black:

Pure darkness.

Jiminy, completely disconnected, floated down to the deck of the tugboat with his umbrella and then ran to Pinocchio's side. Tiny as he was, the small hand he put on Pinocchio's knee symbolized a much larger heart.

"Oh, Jiminy," sighed the puppet, "I'm not gonna make it."

His nose wobbled and then grew, sticking a foot from his tiny, wooden face.

"Pinocch!" laughed the cricket through the smallest tears.

"Oh!" grinned Pinocchio. "I guess I'll be okay after all!"

"Not so fast," came Riku's voice, ever the mood breaker. He had stopped his spell as fast as he had started, and put out one hand. Darkness consumed him, swallowing him into a portal to a distant land. Sora charged the vortex, but it disappeared long before he reached it.

Riku's steely, cold eyes were the last to fade through.

Below the boat, the darkness of Riku's spell had disturbed the waters.

And what lay beneath.

One large tentacle struck the deck, cutting straight through the wood.

The parasite cage was back.

**Chapter 16  
Under the Sea**

The darkness permeated all, trying to stifle truth and goodness. But there were many victories. Evil had been slain multiple times, and each world was clearly the right path to some ultimate perseverance.

But now… all that in mind, Sora couldn't forget Riku's chilling words.

"_Someone who's lost theirs…_"

Where was Kairi's heart? How had she lost it?

Where _was_ she?

Where was _he_?

Was Sora's part in the journey over?

Was it up to Riku now?

Perhaps.

Perhaps he had failed….

-

"_Why, if Ariel was my daughter, I'd show her who was boss. None of this 'flitting to the surface' and other such nonsense. No, sir. I'd keep her under tight control."_

"_You're absolutely right, Sebastian," mused the King._

"_Of course."_

"_Ariel needs constant supervision."_

"_Constant."_

"_Someone to watch over her… to keep her out of trouble."_

"_All the time—"_

"_And you are _just_ the crab to do it."_

**Chapter 17**

**Poor Unfortunate Souls**

_She clapped her hands. "Flotsam! Jetsam!"_

_Two moray eels slithered out of the cavern's unlit depths of coral and rose to the witch. Each had one dead eye and one glowing with an ethereal light. _

_A Heartless yellow._

"_I want that girl as soon as you can nab her. Are we clear on that, my pets?"_

_The eels looked to each other, smirked, and swam out into the open ocean._

_The witch stared at her crystal ball, within which was the projection. She ran a jagged, painted nail across its glass surface and smiled. "Triton, my old friend… Your day is coming."_


End file.
